2 Kings 25:3

2 Kings 25:3 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat.
• English Standard Version (ESV)On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.
• New King James Version (NKJV)By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.

Context of 2 Kings 25:3

1Now in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he with all his army, against Jerusalem, and camped against it and built siege works surrounding it. 2The city came under siege [for nearly two years] until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine [caused by the siege] was severe in the city; there was no food for the people of the land. 4Then the city [wall] was broken into [and conquered]; all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans (Babylonians) were all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah (the plain of the Jordan). 5The army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. Then his entire army was dispersed from him.

2 Kings 25:3 word by word

בַּחֹדֶשׁ הָרְבִיעִי בְּתִשְׁעָ֣ה לַחֹ֔דֶשׁ וַיֶּחֱזַ֥ק הָרָעָ֖ב בָּעִ֑יר וְלֹא־הָ֥יָה לֶ֖חֶם לְעַ֥ם הָאָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And on the ninthתֵּ֫שַׁעtêsha‛ tish‛âh · nineH8672
• monthחֹ֫דֶשׁchôdesh · monthH2320
• the famineרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
• prevailedחָזַקchâzaq · to strengthen: strengthenH2388
• in the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• and there was no breadלֶ֫חֶםlechem · foodH3899
• for the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776

Cross-references for 2 Kings 25:3

• Jeremiah 39:2and in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, they breached the wall and broke into the city.
• Jeremiah 52:6In the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.
• Zechariah 8:19“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth [month to mourn the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls], the fast of the fifth [month to mourn the temple’s destruction], the fast of the seventh [month to mourn Gedaliah’s assassination], and the fast of the tenth [month to mourn the siege of Jerusalem] will become times of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so [to bring this about] love truth and peace.’
• Leviticus 26:26When I break your staff of bread [that is, cut off your supply of food], ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will ration your bread; and you will eat and not be satisfied.
• Deuteronomy 28:52They will besiege you in all your cities until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout your land; and they will besiege you in all your cities throughout your land which the Lord your God has given you.
• Lamentations 4:4The tongue of the infant clings To the roof of its mouth because of thirst; The little ones ask for food, But no one gives it to them.
• Ezekiel 4:9“But as for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, and put them into one vessel and make them into bread for yourself. You shall eat it according to the number of the days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days.
• Ezekiel 5:10Therefore, fathers will eat their sons among you, and sons will eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments on you and I will scatter to all the winds the remnant of you.
• Ezekiel 7:15The sword is outside and virulent disease and famine are within. He who is in the field will die by the sword, and famine and disease will devour those in the city.
• Ezekiel 14:21For thus says the Lord God, “How much more when I send My four severe judgments against Jerusalem—sword, famine, predatory beasts, and virulent disease—to cut off man and animal from it!
• Jeremiah 37:21Then King Zedekiah commanded, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guardhouse, and a [round] loaf of bread from the bakers’ street was given to him daily, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained [imprisoned] in the court of the guardhouse.
• Jeremiah 38:2“So says the Lord, ‘He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by famine, and by virulent disease (pestilence), but he who goes out to the Chaldeans [of Babylon] will live and have his [own] life as a reward and stay alive.’

Commentaries on 2 Kings 25:3

• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-21Nebuchadnezzar II attacked Judah at least three times, in 605 BC, 597 BC, and 586 BC. He took treasures from Jerusalem and captured people to bring to Babylon (see 2 Kings 24:1, 10–17; 25:1–21).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. 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…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 25:3

• Armies
• Famine
• Jerusalem
• Prophecy
• Siege
• Zedekiah

In the dictionaries

• Chaldees
• Famine
• Fast
• Jerusalem
• Kings, The Books of
• Pharaoh
• Rate
• Zedekiah
• Alliance
• Feasts and Fasts

Commentaries on 2 Kings 25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings