What Does 2 Kings 7:20 Mean in the King James?
And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.
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 verb translated “trode upon” names trampling underfoot, so the gate becomes a crush point where the crowd’s rush toward provision turns lethal.
THE MEANING
Bodies surge through the gate toward food, and the man caught beneath that movement is trampled and dies. The passage holds two realities together: the crowd reaches provision, while he dies at its threshold.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Reaching the threshold of provision does not guarantee sharing in it: he is at the gate, but dies before he can eat.
THE ROOT
וַיִּרְמְסוּ
wayyirməsū
GROWS FROM
רמס
r-m-s
To tread down, trample, or crush underfoot.
“trode upon” in this verse is wayyirməsū. This verb names force bearing down on what lies beneath it, not merely incidental contact. The same root describes treading courts and trampling bodies, bringing the physical force of the crowd’s movement into focus.
ALSO GROWS
lirmōs: to tread or trample
לִרְמֹס
Isaiah 1:12 uses this form for treading the courts, showing the root’s force as feet press down on a space.
ve’ermesēm: and I will trample them
וְאֶרְמְסֵם
Isaiah 63:3 uses the same root for trampling people, making its bodily force unmistakable.
THE PATTERN
Movement through a crowded or forceful press can become crushing pressure on bodies and places beneath it.
When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.THE THREAD
I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.The verb translated “trample” in Isaiah shares the root רמס (r-m-s) with “trode upon” here. In both verses, the word names crushing force upon bodies, keeping the physical violence of the scene visible.
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