What Does 2 Chronicles 13:7 Mean?
And empty men have gathered to him, sons of worthlessness, and have made themselves strong against Rehoboam son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and soft of heart, and he could not hold fast against them.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them.THE KEY
The verse calls the men empty, then shows them gathering into force: being overwhelmed by a crowd does not prove the crowd has substance.
THE MEANING
When pressure gathers around you, it can become strong enough to overwhelm a tender heart. The verse holds that real force beside the word “empty,” so what overpowers you is not automatically substantial. Vulnerability and the emptiness of those applying pressure can both be present at once.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The pressure of a united crowd proves that it has substance.
THE ROOT
רֵקִים
reqim
GROWS FROM
ריק
To be empty or void; to empty out.
“empty men” in this verse is reqim. The verse calls the men empty, then says they gather and make themselves strong. Their force is real, but the word keeps that force distinct from substance: a crowd can overwhelm a tender heart while remaining empty at its center.
ALSO GROWS
req: Empty; vacant.
רֵיק
This adjective shares the root and makes the men’s described emptiness explicit.
riqam: Empty-handed; in vain.
רִיקָם
The root’s sense of emptiness extends to having nothing in hand or achieving nothing.
heriq: To empty out; to pour out.
הֵרִיק
This verb shows the same root as an action that removes what fills a space.
וַיִּתְאַמְּצוּ
vayyit'ammetsu
GROWS FROM
אמץ
To be firm or strong; to show courage.
“made themselves strong” in this verse is vayyit'ammetsu. The verse sets self-strengthening beside emptiness. The men’s effort gives their gathering real force, but it does not change what the verse says about their substance.
ALSO GROWS
immets: To strengthen, make firm, or encourage.
אִמֵּץ
This verb from the same root names the strengthening that the gathered men undertake.
ammits: Strong, firm, or mighty.
אַמִּיץ
This adjective shows the firmness and force carried by the root.
רְחַבְעָם
Reḥavʿam
GROWS FROM
רחב
To be wide or spacious.
The name joins רָחַב (raḥav, to widen) with עַם (ʿam, people), carrying the sense “the people are widened.” The verse places this spacious name beside Rehoboam’s inability to stand before the crowd: the name’s nature does not make him invulnerable.
ALSO GROWS
raḥav: Wide, broad, or spacious.
רָחָב
This word shares the name’s root and carries its sense of widening.
reḥov: A broad place or street.
רְחֹב
This noun from the same root names a space made wide.
THE PATTERN
Gathering can magnify opposition without filling its inner emptiness.
Why do the nations churn, and the peoples mutter emptiness?Hand to hand, the wicked does not come out clean, but the seed of the aligned slips free.The kings of the earth stood side by side, and the rulers gathered together against the LORD and against his Anointed One.THE THREAD
Why do the nations churn, and the peoples mutter emptiness?This verse calls the gathered men רֵקִים (reqim, empty); Psalm 2:1 calls the people’s scheme רִיק (riq, empty or vain), from the same root ריק. The shared word links their visible force to its inner quality: a crowd can rage and organize while its purpose remains empty.
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