2 Kings 6:28

²⁶ As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”

²⁷ He answered, “If the LORD does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or the winepress?”

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.’

²⁹ So 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.”

³⁰ When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes. And as he passed by on the wall, the people saw the sackcloth under his clothes next to his skin.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: 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.’
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.
WEB: 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.’
ASV: 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.
DARBY: And the king said to her, What aileth thee? And she said, This woman said to me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow.
BLB: And the king said to her, “What is troubling you?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son, that we may eat him today, and my son we will eat tomorrow.’

ÅB: Og kongen spurte henne: Hva fattes deg? Hun svarte: Denne kvinne sa til meg: Kom hit med din sønn, så vil vi spise ham idag, og imorgen vil vi spise min sønn.
OTB: Da sa kongen til henne, "Hva er i veien med deg?" Og hun svarte, "Denne kvinnen sa til meg: 'Gi din sønn, så vi kan spise ham i dag, og vi vil spise min sønn i morgen.'
B1930: Og kongen spurte henne: Hvad fattes dig? Hun svarte: Denne kvinne sa til mig: Kom hit med din sønn, så vil vi ete ham idag, og imorgen vil vi ete min sønn.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

2 Samuel 14:5
“What troubles you?” the king asked her. “Indeed,” she said, “I am a widow, for my husband is dead.
Read in context
Leviticus 26:29
You will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters.
Read in context
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?”
Read in context
Lamentations 4:10
The hands of compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
Read in context
Luke 23:29
Look, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and breasts that never nursed!’
Read in context
Matthew 24:18–21
And let no one in the field return for his cloak.
Read in context
Isaiah 22:1
This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops,
Read in context
Genesis 21:17
Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he lies.
Read in context