2 Kings 6:28

28 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 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 6:28

And the king said unto her, what aileth thee?
&c.] His passion subsiding, or pitying her as in distress, and supposing that there might be something particular and pressing in her case:

and she answered,

this woman said unto me;
who was now with her, and to whom she pointed:

give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son
tomorrow;
and this was agreed to between them, that first one should be eaten, and then the other, and that they should feed upon one as long as it would last, and then on the other; for it is not to be limited precisely to a day and tomorrow.

2 Kings 6:28 In-Context

26 And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.

27 And he said, If Jehovah do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the threshing-floor, or out of the winepress?

28 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.

29 So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him; and she hath hid her son.

30 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes (now he was passing by upon the wall); and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.