Deuteronomy 28:53
in Deuteronomy 28Then you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, whom Jehovah thy God hath given thee, in the siege and in the distress wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee.
KJV
And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:
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This verse in Deuteronomy 28
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Such were the dreadful extremities to which the inhabitants during the siege were reduced that many women sustained a wretched existence by eating the flesh of their own children. Parental affection was extinguished, and the nearest relatives were jealously, avoided, lest they should discover and demand a share of the revolting viands.
This site's exposition
And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body
on Deuteronomy 28:53-55
The siege turns a family on itself, and the text states it without softening, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters. 2 Kings 6:28-29 records it in the siege of Samaria and Lamentations 2:20 and 4:10 record it after the fall of Jerusalem, so the curse has two occasions in the Old Testament alone. Josephus reports it again in the siege of Jerusalem under Titus, in Wars of the Jews. Verses 54 and 55 add that the man who does it is the tender and delicate one, the least likely man in the camp.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And thou shall eat the fruit of thine body,....
Men should do so, notwithstanding their hardiness, and ability to bear hunger; and, though obliged by the law of nature to provide for their own families, yet should refuse to give to the wife and children that were starving any of the child that was barbarously butchered,
The blessings are here put before the curses, to intimate, 1. That God is slow to anger, but swift to show mercy: he has said it, and sworn, that he would much rather we would obey and live than sin and die. It is his delight to bless.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאָכַלְתָּ֣ | veakhalta | and you will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| פְרִֽי־ | feri- | [the] fruit of | H6529 → | 119 times |
| בִטְנְךָ֗ | vitnekha | womb your | H990 → | 72 times |
| בְּשַׂ֤ר | besar | [the] flesh of | H1320 → | 270 times |
| בָּנֶ֙יךָ֙ | baneikha | sons your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וּבְנֹתֶ֔יךָ | uvenoteikha | and daughters your | H1323 → | 588 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָֽתַן־ | natan- | he has given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְךָ֖ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בְּמָצוֹר֙ | bematzor | in [the] siege | H4692 → | 25 times |
| וּבְמָצ֔וֹק | uvematzok | and in [the] distress | H4689 → | 6 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יָצִ֥יק | yatzik | he will bring distress | H6693 → | 11 times |
| לְךָ֖ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| אֹיְבֶֽךָ׃ | ʾoyevekha | enemy your | H341 → | 282 times |
וְאָכַלְתָּ֣and you will eat
veakhaltaH398 →810 times
פְרִֽי־[the] fruit of
feri-H6529 →119 times
בִטְנְךָ֗womb your
vitnekhaH990 →72 times
בְּשַׂ֤ר[the] flesh of
besarH1320 →270 times
בָּנֶ֙יךָ֙sons your
baneikhaH1121 →4930 times
וּבְנֹתֶ֔יךָand daughters your
uvenoteikhaH1323 →588 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נָֽתַן־he has given
natan-H5414 →2011 times
לְךָ֖to <the> you
lekha
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
בְּמָצוֹר֙in [the] siege
bematzorH4692 →25 times
וּבְמָצ֔וֹקand in [the] distress
uvematzokH4689 →6 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יָצִ֥יקhe will bring distress
yatzikH6693 →11 times
לְךָ֖to <the> you
lekha
אֹיְבֶֽךָ׃enemy your
ʾoyevekhaH341 →282 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
Jeremiah 19:9I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and distress inflicted on them by their enemies who seek their lives.’
it leads to
- 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.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 5:10
As a result, fathers among you will eat their sons, and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments against you and scatter all your remnant to every wind.’
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 28:53–57
Then you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 9:20
They carve out what is on the right, but they are still hungry; they eat what is on the left, but they are still not satisfied. Each one devours the flesh of his own…
- Leviticus 26:29
You will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters.
- Lamentations 4:10
Through
Lamentations 2:20Look, O LORD, and consider: Whom have You ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the infants they have nurtured? Should priests and prophets be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?
it leads to
- Jeremiah 19:9
I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and distress inflicted on them by their enemies who seek their lives.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 19:9
Through
Lamentations 4:10The hands of compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
it leads to
- Lamentations 2:20
Look, O LORD, and consider: Whom have You ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the infants they have nurtured? Should priests and prophets be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 49:15
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!
- Lamentations 2:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
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About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.