2 Kings 25 · Verse 3

2 Kings 25:3

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.
2 Kings 25:3, King James Version

2 Kings 25:3 in other translations

BSBBy the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.
WEBOn the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine was severe in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
ASVOn 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.
YLTon the ninth of the month--when the famine is severe in the city, and there hath not been bread for the people of the land,
DARBYOn the ninth of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
BBENow on the ninth day of the fourth month, the store of food in the town was almost gone, so that there was no food for the people of the land.
WebsterAnd 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.

What does 2 Kings 25:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
3. on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed--In consequence of the close and protracted blockade, the inhabitants were reduced to dreadful extremities; and under the maddening influence of hunger, the most inhuman atrocities were perpetrated (La 2:20, 22; 4:9, 10; Eze 5:10). This was a fulfilment of the prophetic denunciations threatened on the apostasy of the chosen people (Le 26:29; De 28:53-57; Jr 15:2; 27:13; Eze 4:16). 2Ki 25:4-30. Zedekiah Taken.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Kings 25:1-7

The rest of the Jews flee into Egypt, Evil-merodach relieves the captivity of Jehoiachin. (22-30) Verses 1-7 Jerusalem was so fortified, that it could not be taken till famine rendered the besieged unable to resist. In the prophecy and Lamentations of Jeremiah, we find more of this event; here it suffices to say, that the impiety and misery of the besieged were very great. At length the city was taken by storm. The…

Read the full comment on 2 Kings 25:1-7 →

2 Kings 25:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

בַּחֹדֶשׁba.Cho.deshin the monthH2320
הָרְבִיעִיha.re.vi.'I<the> fourthH7243
בְּתִשְׁעָ֣הbe.tish.'Ahon [day] nineH8672
לַחֹ֔דֶשׁla.Cho.deshof the monthH2320
וַיֶּחֱזַ֥קvai.ye.che.Zakand it was severeH2388
הָרָעָ֖בha.ra.'Avthe famineH7458
בָּעִ֑ירba.'Irin the cityH5892
וְלֹא\־ve.lo'-and notH3808
הָ֥יָהHa.yahit belongedH1961
לֶ֖חֶםLe.chemfoodH3899
לְעַ֥םle.'Amto [the] people ofH5971
הָאָֽרֶץ\׃ha.'A.retzthe landH776

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Kings 25:3

  • Jeremiah 38:2

    Thus saith the Lord, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.

  • Deuteronomy 28:52-53

    And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee. 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:

  • Ezekiel 5:12

    A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.

  • Lamentations 4:4-10

    The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them. They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills. For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her. Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire: …

  • Leviticus 26:26

    And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.

  • Ezekiel 14:21

    For thus saith the Lord God; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?

  • Ezekiel 7:15

    The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.

  • Jeremiah 52:6

    And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.

  • Jeremiah 39:2

    And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up.

  • Zechariah 8:19

    Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.

  • Ezekiel 4:9-17

    Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof. And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it. Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink. And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight. …

  • Jeremiah 37:21

    Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
A.M. 3416. B.C. 588. the ninth day.
Jer 39:2; 52:6; Zec 8:19
the famine.
Le 26:26; De 28:52,53; La 4:4-10; Eze 4:9-17; 5:10,12; 7:15; 14:21
there was no.
Jer 37:21; 38:2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 2 Kings 25:2

    And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.

  • 2 Kings 25:3

    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.

  • 2 Kings 25:4

    And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.

Read all of 2 Kings 25

2 Kings 25:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		A los nueve del mes prevaleció el hambre en la ciudad, que no hubo pan para el pueblo de la tierra.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Le neuvième jour du quatrième mois, la famine se renforça dans la ville, et il n’y avait point de pain pour le peuple du pays.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Am Neunten des vierten Monats, da nahm der Hunger in der Stadt überhand; und es war kein Brot mehr da für das Volk des Landes.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		nona die mensis: prævaluitque fames in civitate, nec erat panis populo terræ.