What Does 2 Kings 6:30 Mean in the King James?
And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.
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 king’s clothes tear after he hears the woman, but sackcloth is already against his skin: the rupture reveals what was concealed, not what has just begun.
THE MEANING
The woman’s words reach the king, and he tears his garments as he passes along the wall. Beneath his royal clothing, sackcloth already touches his flesh: distress is present before it becomes visible to the people. The watching crowd sees the tear expose what his outer clothing concealed.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A powerful or composed appearance means the person beneath it is untouched by distress.
THE ROOT
וַיִּקְרַע
wayyiqraʿ
GROWS FROM
קרע
q-r-ʿ
To tear, rend, split open.
“rent” in this verse is wayyiqraʿ. The Hebrew verb names a covering being opened by tearing: the king’s garments split in response to what he hears. But the sackcloth already lies against his flesh, so the tear exposes distress that was present beneath his public appearance.
ALSO GROWS
qeriʿah: Tearing, rending.
קְרִיעָה
The noun names the act itself; here the torn garment makes an inward rupture visible to the people watching.
niqraʿ: Was torn, became split.
נִקְרַע
This form describes a surface giving way, echoing how the king’s clothing opens to reveal what lies beneath.
THE PATTERN
A tear turns an unseen rupture or separation into something visible.
And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.THE THREAD
And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.Both verses use the Hebrew root קרע (q-r-ʿ, “tear, rend”) for tearing garments, and both place sackcloth against the body. Genesis shows Jacob putting it on after he tears his clothes; in 2 Kings, the king’s sackcloth is already beneath his clothing, so the tear reveals what he has been carrying.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us