2 Kings 6 28

2 Kings 6:28 kjv

And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.

2 Kings 6:28 nkjv

Then the king said to her, "What is troubling you?" And she answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'

2 Kings 6:28 niv

Then he asked her, "What's the matter?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we'll eat my son.'

2 Kings 6:28 esv

And the king asked her, "What is your trouble?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'

2 Kings 6:28 nlt

But then the king asked, "What is the matter?" She replied, "This woman said to me: 'Come on, let's eat your son today, then we will eat my son tomorrow.'

2 Kings 6 verses

2 Kings 6 28 Meaning

This verse unfolds a shocking conversation between King Joram of Israel and a woman in besieged Samaria, revealing the horrific extent of the famine. The king, upon hearing the woman's outcry, asks the nature of her complaint. She then recounts a dreadful agreement made with another woman: to practice cannibalism, consuming her own son first, followed by the other woman's son the next day. This verse exposes the ultimate societal and moral decay brought about by the desperate conditions of the siege, painting a stark picture of human depravity and the fulfillment of God's curses for disobedience.

2 Kings 6 28 Context

The events of 2 Kings 6:28 occur during a severe siege of Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, by Ben-Hadad, King of Aram. The surrounding verses (2 Kings 6:24-27) vividly describe the crushing famine that gripped the city, with food shortages so dire that abhorrent items like a donkey's head and dove's droppings were sold at exorbitant prices. The population was pushed to the absolute brink of starvation. King Joram (Jehoram), son of Ahab, was ruling, and the people were suffering immensely. This specific verse reveals a desperate woman appealing directly to the king with a complaint of a magnitude that transcends normal suffering, detailing the ultimate horror of human desperation: a pre-arranged act of cannibalism, driven by the brutal reality of the famine, fulfilling ancient covenant curses.

2 Kings 6 28 Word analysis

• "And he said to her," (וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ, vaiyomer lah): This is King Joram’s initiation of the conversation, signifying his active, albeit shocked, involvement in addressing the citizen's complaint amidst a siege. It points to his attempt to maintain some semblance of order and judgment in an unraveling society.
• "'What ails you?'" (מַה־לָּךְ, mah-lakh?): Literally "What to you?" or "What is to you?", this idiom is a common inquiry about someone’s distress or need. The king, accustomed to petitions for general suffering, was unprepared for the shocking depth of human degradation and starvation revealed by this woman's response. It reflects his struggle to grasp the situation's extremity.
• "And she answered," (וַתֹּאמֶר, vattomer): The direct and immediate nature of her reply highlights the raw urgency and overwhelming nature of her grievance. She doesn't hesitate or lead up to the horror, but delivers it plainly.
• "'This woman said to me," (הָאִשָּׁה הַזֹּאת אָמְרָה אֵלַי, ha’ishshah hazzo't amrah elay): The immediate act of accusation, casting blame on another individual, highlights the total breakdown of trust and social bonds in a time of extreme distress. Personal survival superseded any shared solidarity.
• "Give your son," (תְּנִי אֶת־בְּנֵךְ, teni et-bnekh): A horrifying command, revealing a transactional and deliberate agreement for cannibalism, a total perversion of parental love and responsibility. This demonstrates how human values were utterly warped by extreme desperation.
• "that we may eat him today," (וְנֹאכְלֶנּוּ הַיּוֹם, v'nokhlenu hayyom): This clause, containing the Hebrew verb for "eat" (אָכַל, akhal), explicitly confirms the act of cannibalism. The term "today" emphasizes the pressing, immediate need fueled by ravenous hunger and signifies the dire urgency driving these unimaginable acts.
• "and we will eat my son tomorrow.'" (וְאֶת־בְּנִי נֹאכַל מָחָר, v'et-beni nokhal makhar): This concluding phrase is profoundly chilling. The "tomorrow" signifies a calculated, systematic, and agreed-upon act of reciprocal child-cannibalism. It depicts the ultimate moral depravity, a planned atrocity driven by desperation, and the complete collapse of familial and societal structures, embodying the curses prophesied for covenant disobedience.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "What ails you? And she answered, 'This woman said to me...": This dialogue sequence demonstrates the profound shift from a seemingly routine royal inquiry into an utterly unprecedented and horrific revelation. It instantly plunges the listener into the core of the unfolding depravity, illustrating the king's dwindling power in the face of such abject human suffering and moral decay.
• "'Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'": This full proposition illustrates the ultimate level of moral dissolution during the famine. It depicts a formalized, almost bureaucratic, agreement for sequential cannibalism between mothers, an arrangement where children are reduced to sustenance. This collective statement tragically showcases humanity's capacity for unimaginable acts when driven to the extreme brink of survival, vividly fulfilling the covenant curses in Lev 26 and Deut 28.

2 Kings 6 28 Bonus section

This verse's profound horror not only serves as a fulfillment of specific Old Testament curses but also stands as a dark backdrop against which God's faithfulness and ability to deliver even from the most desperate circumstances become astonishingly clear. While this specific event details unparalleled human depravity, the subsequent verses (2 Kgs 7) immediately pivot to a prophecy of radical abundance, demonstrating God's sovereign power to reverse even the most severe judgments. The very shock of this verse highlights the miraculous nature of God's later intervention through Elisha, bringing food and salvation to a city on the brink of complete annihilation. It is a grim testament to the consequences of forsaking God, yet it also sets the stage for a dramatic display of divine mercy and power in an unexpected and swift manner.

2 Kings 6 28 Commentary

2 Kings 6:28 stands as one of the Bible's most stark and horrific verses, portraying the depths of human degradation resulting from extreme famine and God's judgment. The king's question "What ails you?" highlights his dwindling capacity to offer help, having already declared himself powerless (v. 27). The woman's answer is a direct, unfiltered testament to the complete breakdown of all societal and moral norms. The proposed act of two mothers agreeing to consume their children for survival is a shocking fulfillment of the curses pronounced in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 for disobedience to God's covenant. This scene depicts a society in total spiritual and physical collapse, driven to the unthinkable. It underscores the severity of God's disciplinary hand on a nation that has strayed far from His ways, and serves as a dire warning of the consequences of apostasy. The immediate impact on the king, who responds with a public display of mourning and a vow against Elisha (v. 30-31), reveals the profound despair and blame-shifting that accompanies such extreme suffering, setting the stage for the dramatic deliverance that God soon provides through His prophet.