2 Kings 6:28

28 Then the king said to her, "What is your trouble?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give up your son so we can eat him today. Then we will eat my son tomorrow.'

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 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman yelled out to him, "Help me, my master and king!"

27 The king said, "If the Lord doesn't help you, how can I? Can I get help from the threshing floor or from the winepress?"

28 Then the king said to her, "What is your trouble?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give up your son so we can eat him today. Then we will eat my son tomorrow.'

29 So we boiled my son and ate him. Then the next day I said to her, 'Give up your son so we can eat him.' But she had hidden him."

30 When the king heard the woman's words, he tore his clothes in grief. As he walked along the wall, the people looked and saw he had on rough cloth under his clothes to show his sadness.