2 Kings 6:28

28 Then the king asked her, "What's troubling you?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give me your son, so that we can eat him today; and we'll 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 Isra'el was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, "Help, my lord, king!"

27 He said, "If ADONAI isn't helping you, how do you expect me to help you? There isn't any grain, and there isn't any wine."

28 Then the king asked her, "What's troubling you?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give me your son, so that we can eat him today; and we'll eat my son tomorrow.'

29 So we boiled my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, 'Give your son, so that we can eat him,' but she has hidden her son."

30 When the king heard what the woman said, he tore his clothes. At the time, he was passing by on the wall; and when the people looked, they saw him there with sackcloth against his skin.