1) to tread

a) to trample, crush with the feet

b) to advance by setting foot upon, tread upon: to encounter successfully the greatest perils from the machinations and persecutions with which Satan would fain thwart the preaching of the gospel

c) to tread under foot, trample on, i.e. to treat with insult and contempt: to desecrate the holy city by devastation and outrage