2 Kings 25:3
in 2 Kings 25By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
KJV
And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
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This verse in 2 Kings 25
Commentary
5 notes on this verseWhat think you of Nebuchadnezzar? Have you not heard from Scripture that he was bloodthirsty, fierce, with the disposition of a lion? Have you not heard that he disinterred the kings? Have you not heard that he brought the people away into captivity? Have you not heard that he put the king's sons to the sword before Zedekiah's eyes and then blinded him? Have you not heard that he shattered the cherubim?
This site's exposition
in the tenth month
on 2 Kings 25:1-3
The siege's date is fixed to the day, matching Jer 52:4 almost word for word, and Ezek 24:1-2 has the prophet in Babylon commanded to write down this same day as a sign: son of man, write thee the name of this day, for the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day. Two witnesses in two places mark one date. The famine that follows by the eleventh year's fourth month leaves no bread before the wall itself gives way.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The people - For the common people, but only for the great men. Now they eat their own children for want of food, Lam. iv, 3, &c. Jer. in this extremity, earnestly persuaded the king to surrender; but his heart was hardened to his destruction.
) Nebuzar-adan was sent with orders to complete the destruction of Jerusalem. This space God gave them to repent, after all the foregoing days of his patience, but in vain; their hearts (for aught that appears) were still hardened, and therefore execution is awarded to the utmost. The city and temple are burnt,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Jeremiah earnestly persuaded the king to surrender ( Jer. xxxviii. 17 ), but his heart was hardened to his destruction. At length the city was taken by storm: it was broken up,
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּתִשְׁעָ֣ה | betishah | on [day] nine | H8672 → | 58 times |
| לַחֹ֔דֶשׁ | lachodesh | of the month | H2320 → | 284 times |
| וַיֶּחֱזַ֥ק | vaiyechezak | and it was severe | H2388 → | 291 times |
| הָרָעָ֖ב | haraav | the famine | H7458 → | 101 times |
| בָּעִ֑יר | bair | in the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָ֥יָה | hayah | it belonged | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לֶ֖חֶם | lechem | food | H3899 → | 298 times |
| לְעַ֥ם | leam | to [the] people of | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
בְּתִשְׁעָ֣הon [day] nine
betishahH8672 →58 times
לַחֹ֔דֶשׁof the month
lachodeshH2320 →284 times
וַיֶּחֱזַ֥קand it was severe
vaiyechezakH2388 →291 times
הָרָעָ֖בthe famine
haraavH7458 →101 times
בָּעִ֑ירin the city
bairH5892 →1090 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
הָ֥יָהit belonged
hayahH1961 →3559 times
לֶ֖חֶםfood
lechemH3899 →298 times
לְעַ֥םto [the] people of
leamH5971 →1873 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 5:12A third of your people will die by plague or be consumed by famine within you, a third will fall by the sword outside your walls, and a third I will scatter to every…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 5:2
When the days of the siege have ended, you are to burn up a third of the hair inside the city; you are also to take a third and slash it with the sword…
- Jeremiah 15:2
If they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword;…
- Jeremiah 43:10–11
Then tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these…
- Ezekiel 5:2
Through
Ezekiel 14:21For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem My four dire judgments—sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague—in order to cut off from it…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 33:27
Tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘As surely as I live, those in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I will give to be…
- Ezekiel 5:17
I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the LORD, have…
- Ezekiel 14:13
“Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to…
- Ezekiel 33:27
Through
Jeremiah 38:2“This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live; he will retain his life like a…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 39:18
For I will surely rescue you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will escape with your life like a spoil of war, declares the…
- Jeremiah 34:17
Therefore this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed Me; you have not proclaimed freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. So now I proclaim freedom for you, declares…
- Jeremiah 39:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 2:17-19; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.