What Does 2 Chronicles 10:13 Mean in the King James?

And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men,

2 Chronicles 10:13 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

THE KEY

The “rough” reply is literally a hard one, revealing a posture in which counsel is already being shut out.

THE MEANING

The verse places two movements side by side: the answer turns hard, and counsel is left behind. In the reader, forceful speech can mark a narrowing in which wisdom no longer reaches the decision-maker. The hard reply exposes a deeper refusal to receive counsel.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It undoes the belief that a sharp answer is only a matter of tone: here, hardness accompanies the choice to abandon counsel.

THE ROOT

קָשֶׁה

qāšeh

GROWS FROM

קשה

To be hard, severe, or difficult.

“Roughly” can sound like a matter of tone, but qasheh carries the sense of hardness or severity. Its verbal branches describe becoming hard and making hard, so the hard reply and the rejection of counsel read as one hardening pattern rather than two unrelated choices.

ALSO GROWS

qāšâ: To be hard or severe.

קָשָׁה

The word’s verbal form makes hardness a condition that can take hold, not just a sharp sound.

hiqšâ: To make hard; to harden.

הִקְשָׁה

This branch connects the hard reply with the possibility that resistance to counsel is itself becoming fixed.

THE PATTERN

Speech reveals whether counsel can still reach us: harshness stirs conflict, while listening keeps the path of wisdom open.

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Proverbs 15:1 · KJVThe answer’s manner shapes whether anger recedes or grows.

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.

Proverbs 12:15 · KJVA person’s willingness to hear counsel marks the difference between self-enclosure and wisdom.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

James 1:19-20 · KJVListening before speaking interrupts the movement from heated speech toward harm.

THE THREAD

Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.

Proverbs 28:14 · KJV

“Hardeneth” comes from the same root, ⁨קשה⁩ (qashah), as the word rendered “roughly.” The shared root links the hard reply with a hardened heart, where resistance to counsel leads toward trouble.

Read the SDV Bible.

Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.

Get Selah Verse

The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.

Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us