2 Kings 6:28
New International Version
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.’

New Living Translation
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.’

English Standard Version
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.’

Berean Standard Bible
Then the king asked her, “What is the matter?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son, that we may eat him, and tomorrow we will eat my son.’

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
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.’

New American Standard Bible
Then the king said to her, “What is on your mind?” And she said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son so that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’

NASB 1995
And the king said to her, “What is the matter with 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.’

NASB 1977
And the king said to her, “What is the matter with 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.’

Legacy Standard Bible
And the king said to her, “What is the matter with you?” And she said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’

Amplified Bible
And the king said to her, “What is the matter with you?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son so we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’

Christian Standard Bible
Then the king asked her, “What’s the matter? ” She said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son, and we will eat him today. Then we will eat my son tomorrow.’

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then the king asked her, “What’s the matter?” She said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son, and we will eat him today. Then we will eat my son tomorrow.’

American Standard Version
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.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
The King said to her: “What has happened to you?” She said to him: “This woman said to me, “Give your son; we will eat him today, and my son we will eat tomorrow.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the king said to her, What is the matter with thee? And the woman said to him, This woman said to me, Give thy son, and we will eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow.

Contemporary English Version
Then he asked, "What's the matter anyway?" The woman answered, "Another woman and I were so hungry that we agreed to eat our sons. She said if we ate my son one day, we could eat hers the next day.

Douay-Rheims Bible
This woman said to me: Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.

English Revised Version
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 today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then the king asked her, "What's the matter?" She answered, "This woman told me, 'Give up your son. Let's eat him today. We'll eat my son tomorrow.'

Good News Translation
What's your trouble?" She answered, "The other day this woman here suggested that we eat my child, and then eat her child the next day.

International Standard Version
Then the king asked her, "What's bothering you?" She said, "This woman told me, 'Give up your son, and we'll eat him today, and we'll eat your son tomorrow.'"

JPS Tanakh 1917
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.

Literal Standard Version
And the king says to her, “What is [troubling] you?” And she says, “This woman said to me, Give your son, and we eat him today, and we eat my son tomorrow;

Majority Standard Bible
Then the king asked her, “What is the matter?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son, that we may eat him, and tomorrow we will eat my son.’

New American Bible
Then the king asked her, “What is your trouble?” She replied: “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son that we may eat him today; then tomorrow we will eat my son.’

NET Bible
Then the king asked her, "What's your problem?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Hand over your son; we'll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow.'

New Revised Standard Version
But then the king asked her, “What is your complaint?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son; we will eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’

New Heart English Bible
The king said to her, "What ails you?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'

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

World English Bible
Then the king asked her, “What is your problem?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’

Young's Literal Translation
And the king saith to her, 'What -- to thee?' and she saith, 'This woman said unto me, Give thy son, and we eat him to-day, and my son we eat to-morrow;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Siege and Famine of Samaria
27He answered, “If the LORD does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or the winepress?” 28Then the king asked her, “What is the matter?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son, that we may eat him, and tomorrow we will eat my son.’ 29So we boiled my son and ate him, and the next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son, that we may eat him.’ But she had hidden her son.”…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 28:53
Then you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you.

Deuteronomy 28:57
the afterbirth that comes from between her legs and the children she bears, because she will secretly eat them for lack of anything else in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you within your gates.

Judges 18:23
When they called out after them, the Danites turned to face them and said to Micah, "What is the matter with you that you have called out such a company?"

2 Kings 6:27
He answered, "If the LORD does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or the winepress?"


Treasury of Scripture

And the king said to her, What ails you? And she answered, This woman said to me, Give your son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.

What aileth thee

Genesis 21:17
And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.

Judges 18:23
And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?

1 Samuel 1:8
Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?

Give thy son

Leviticus 26:29
And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.

Deuteronomy 28:53-57
And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee: …

Isaiah 9:20,21
And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: …

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2 Kings 6
1. Elisha, allowing the young prophets to enlarge dwellings, floats an axhead
8. He discloses the king of Syria's counsel
13. The army which was sent to Dothan to apprehend Elisha, is blinded
19. Being brought into Samaria, they are dismissed in peace
24. The famine in Samaria causes women to eat their own children
30. The king sends to slay Elisha














(28) And the king said.--When she had explained what she wanted. With the hideous facts here recorded, comp. Deuteronomy 28:56, seq. Similar things were done during the sieges of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (1Samuel 4:10; Ezekiel 5:10), and by Vespasian and Titus (Josephus, Bell. Jud. vi. 3, 4).

Verse 28. - And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? Probably, as Bahr suggests, the woman explained to the king that she did not appear before him to beg food, but to claim his interposition as judge, in a case in which she considered herself to be wronged. Such an appeal the king was bound to hear; and he therefore asks," What aileth thee?" i.e. "What is thy ground of complaint?" Then she tells her story. And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. Compare the prophecy in Deuteronomy, "The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil towards the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, and toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates" (Deuteronomy 28:56, 57). There is historical testimony that the prophecy was three times fulfilled; viz.

(1) in Samaria on the present occasion;

(2) in Jerusalem during the last siege by Nebuchadnezzar (Lamentations 4:10); and

(3) in Jerusalem during the last siege by Titus (Josephus, 'Bell. Jud.,' 6:03. § 4). In modern sieges surrender is made before the population is driven to such straits.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Then the king
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ (ham·me·leḵ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428: A king

asked her,
וַיֹּֽאמֶר־ (way·yō·mer-)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“What is the matter?”
מַה־ (mah-)
Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

And she answered,
וַתֹּ֗אמֶר (wat·tō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“This
הַזֹּ֜את (haz·zōṯ)
Article | Pronoun - feminine singular
Strong's 2063: Hereby in it, likewise, the one other, same, she, so much, such deed, that,

woman
הָאִשָּׁ֨ה (hā·’iš·šāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

said
אָמְרָ֣ה (’ā·mə·rāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to me,
אֵלַ֗י (’ê·lay)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

‘Give up
תְּנִ֤י (tə·nî)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - feminine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

your son,
בְּנֵךְ֙ (bə·nêḵ)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person feminine singular
Strong's 1121: A son

and we will eat him today,
וְנֹאכְלֶ֣נּוּ (wə·nō·ḵə·len·nū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative if contextual - first person common plural | third person masculine singular
Strong's 398: To eat

and
וְאֶת־ (wə·’eṯ-)
Conjunctive waw | Direct object marker
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

tomorrow
מָחָֽר׃ (mā·ḥār)
Adverb
Strong's 4279: Deferred, the morrow, tomorrow, hereafter

we will eat
נֹאכַ֥ל (nō·ḵal)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common plural
Strong's 398: To eat

my son.’
בְּנִ֖י (bə·nî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1121: A son


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OT History: 2 Kings 6:28 The king said to her What ails (2Ki iiKi ii ki 2 kg 2kg)
2 Kings 6:27
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