What Does 2 Kings 14:12 Mean in the King James?
And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled every man to their tents.
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
Judah’s name carries praise, yet the blow leaves “every man” running alone.
THE MEANING
A shared people can take one blow and still dissolve into separate flight; each person reaches for the nearest shelter when collective footing gives way. Judah’s name, יְהוּדָה (Yehudah, “praise”), does not serve as armor, the praised people can still be struck.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A shared identity guarantees people will stay unified in a crisis; here, a people named together becomes each person fleeing alone.
THE ROOT
וַיִּנָּגֶף
vayinnagef
GROWS FROM
נגף
n-g-p
To strike or smite; in this form, to be struck down.
“put to the worse” in this verse is vayinnagef. The defeat is expressed as a striking: Judah is not merely ranked lower but presented as the one struck. מַגֵּפָה (magephah, “plague” or “striking blow”) carries the same impact, bringing the blow itself into view.
ALSO GROWS
nāgaph: To strike or deal a blow.
נָגַף
It reveals the force inside the verse’s language of defeat.
magephah: A plague or destructive blow.
מַגֵּפָה
It carries the same root’s sense of impact, linking defeat with being struck.
וַיָּנֻסוּ
vayyānusū
GROWS FROM
נוּס
n-w-s
To flee or escape.
“fled” in this verse is vayyānusū. The root also forms מָנוֹס (mānōs, “refuge” or “escape”), keeping shelter close to the meaning of flight. Each person runs to a tent, and the retreat turns a collective defeat into individual escape.
ALSO GROWS
nūs: To run away or escape.
נוּס
This is the movement named directly in the verse.
mānōs: A place of refuge or escape.
מָנוֹס
It shows how fleeing and seeking shelter belong to the same word-family.
יְהוּדָה
Yehudah
GROWS FROM
ידה
y-d-h
To praise or give thanks.
Judah’s name carries the language of praise, while this verse says the people bearing it are struck. The name remains part of the scene, but it does not shield them from defeat.
ALSO GROWS
yādāh: To praise or give thanks.
יָדָה
This verb gives the name Judah its association with praise.
tōdāh: Thanksgiving or praise.
תּוֹדָה
This related word keeps the praise within Judah’s name audible beside the defeat.
THE PATTERN
A blow against a gathered people can dissolve collective movement into individual retreat.
The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.THE THREAD
The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.The verb translated “put to the worse” comes from נגף (nagaph, “strike”), the same root rendered “smitten” here. Deuteronomy joins that blow to flight, making the sequence in this verse visible: the striking gives way to scattered escape.
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