2 Chronicles 24:20

20 Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed, or environed, Zechariah, the priest, the son of Jehoiada; and he stood in the sight of the people, and said to them, The Lord saith these things, Why break ye the commandment of the Lord, which thing shall not profit to you, and ye have forsaken the Lord, that he should forsake you? (Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Zechariah, the son of the High Priest Jehoiada; and he stood before the people, and said to them, The Lord saith these things, Why have ye broken the Lord's commands? truly that shall not profit you; but because ye have abandoned the Lord, now he hath abandoned you.)

2 Chronicles 24:20 Meaning and Commentary

2 Chronicles 24:20

And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Zechariah the son of
Jehoiada the priest
The spirit of prophecy, as the Targum; he was moved and influenced by it to speak what is after related:

which stood above the people;
in a desk, or sort of pulpit, in which the priests stood when they taught the people, that they might be the better heard, like that which Ezra used, ( Nehemiah 8:4 )

and said unto them, thus saith God;
being moved and directed by his Spirit, he spake in his name:

why transgress ye the command of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper?
by committing idolatry, than which nothing could more hinder prosperity, both in things spiritual and temporal, in soul and body:

because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you;
because they had forsaken the worship of God, as the Targum, God had forsaken them, and was about to give them up into the hand of their enemies.

2 Chronicles 24:20 In-Context

18 And they forsook the temple of the Lord God of their fathers, and served idols in woods, and graven images (and worshipped sacred poles, and carved idols); and the ire of the Lord was made against Judah and Jerusalem for this sin.

19 And he sent to them prophets, that they should turn again to the Lord (so that they would return to the Lord); the which prophets? witnessing, they would not hear.

20 Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed, or environed, Zechariah, the priest, the son of Jehoiada; and he stood in the sight of the people, and said to them, The Lord saith these things, Why break ye the commandment of the Lord, which thing shall not profit to you, and ye have forsaken the Lord, that he should forsake you? (Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Zechariah, the son of the High Priest Jehoiada; and he stood before the people, and said to them, The Lord saith these things, Why have ye broken the Lord's commands? truly that shall not profit you; but because ye have abandoned the Lord, now he hath abandoned you.)

21 Which were gathered together against him, and casted stones (at him), by commandment of the king, in the large place of the house of the Lord. (And they gathered together against him, and threw stones at him, by the command of the king, in the courtyard of the House of the Lord.)

22 And king Joash had not mind on the mercy, (or goodness,) which Jehoiada, the father of Zechariah, had done with him; but he killed the son of Jehoiada. And when Zechariah died, he said, The Lord see this thing, and again-seek it. (And King Joash forgot about the loyalty which Jehoiada, Zechariah's father, had shown to him; and so he had Jehoiada's son killed. And as Zechariah died, he said, May the Lord see what thou hast done, and avenge it.)