Deuteronomy 28:55
in Deuteronomy 28refusing to share with any of them the flesh of his children he will eat because he has nothing left in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you within all your gates.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat, because he hath nothing left him, in the siege and in the distress wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in all thy gates.
KJV
So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 28
Commentary
3 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.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat,....
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
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִתֵּ֣ת׀ | mitet | from giving | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְאַחַ֣ד | leachad | to one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מֵהֶ֗ם | mehem | from <the> them | ||
| מִבְּשַׂ֤ר | mibesar | any of [the] flesh of | H1320 → | 270 times |
| בָּנָיו֙ | banav | children his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יֹאכֵ֔ל | yokhel | he will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| מִבְּלִ֥י | mibeli | because not | H1097 → | 58 times |
| הִשְׁאִֽיר־ | hishir- | he has left | H7604 → | 133 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| כֹּ֑ל | kol | anything | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּמָצוֹר֙ | bematzor | in [the] siege | H4692 → | 25 times |
| וּבְמָצ֔וֹק | uvematzok | and in [the] distress | H4689 → | 6 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יָצִ֥יק | yatzik | he will bring distress | H6693 → | 11 times |
| לְךָ֛ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| אֹיִבְךָ֖ | ʾoyivkha | enemy your | H341 → | 282 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| שְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃ | sheareikha | gates your | H8179 → | 374 times |
מִתֵּ֣ת׀from giving
mitetH5414 →2011 times
לְאַחַ֣דto one
leachadH259 →971 times
מֵהֶ֗םfrom <the> them
mehem
מִבְּשַׂ֤רany of [the] flesh of
mibesarH1320 →270 times
בָּנָיו֙children his
banavH1121 →4930 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יֹאכֵ֔לhe will eat
yokhelH398 →810 times
מִבְּלִ֥יbecause not
mibeliH1097 →58 times
הִשְׁאִֽיר־he has left
hishir-H7604 →133 times
ל֖וֹto <the> him
lo
כֹּ֑לanything
kolH3605 →5413 times
בְּמָצוֹר֙in [the] siege
bematzorH4692 →25 times
וּבְמָצ֔וֹקand in [the] distress
uvematzokH4689 →6 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יָצִ֥יקhe will bring distress
yatzikH6693 →11 times
לְךָ֛to <the> you
lekha
אֹיִבְךָ֖enemy your
ʾoyivkhaH341 →282 times
בְּכָל־in all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
שְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃gates your
sheareikhaH8179 →374 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 34:2The LORD, the God of Israel, told Jeremiah to go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him that this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I am about to deliver this…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 21:10
For I have set My face against this city to bring disaster and not good, declares the LORD. It will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, who will destroy it…
- Jeremiah 34:22
Behold, I am going to give the command, declares the LORD, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it down. And I will…
- 2 Chronicles 36:11–12
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years.
- Jeremiah 37:8–10
Then the Chaldeans will return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down.
- Jeremiah 21:10
Through
Jeremiah 52:6By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 39:2
And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city was breached.
- Isaiah 3:1
For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of food and water,
- Jeremiah 38:9
“My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have dropped him into the cistern, where he will starve to death, for there…
- Jeremiah 39:2
Through
Jeremiah 5:10Go up through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not finish them off. Strip off her branches, for they do not belong to the LORD.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:27
For this is what the LORD says: “The whole land will be desolate, but I will not finish its destruction.
- Jeremiah 4:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies8
On this verse
About Deuteronomy

This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
