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

1Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, marched with all his army to attack Jerusalem. He arrived on the 10th day of the 10th month, in the 9th year when Zedekiah had ruled Judah. His soldiers made their camp all around the city. They built heaps of earth all around Jerusalem's walls. 2Babylon's army stayed around the city until the 11th year that Zedekiah had been king. By the 9th day of the 4th month, there was a very bad famine in the city. There was no food for the people to eat. 4Then Babylon's army broke down Jerusalem's wall so that they could go into the city. Their soldiers were all around the city. So the king of Judah and all his army tried to escape in the night. They went through the gate that was near the king's garden. The path went between the two walls of the city. They ran towards the Jordan Valley. 5But the soldiers of Babylon's army chased after the king. They caught him on the flat land near Jericho. All King Zedekiah's soldiers ran away from him in many directions.

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 39:2They stayed there until the ninth day of the fourth month of the 11th year that Zedekiah had been king. On that day, Babylon's soldiers broke through the walls of the city.
• Jeremiah 52:6By the ninth day of the fourth month there was a very bad famine in the city. There was no food for the people to eat.
• Zechariah 8:19‘On special days in the year you eat no food. Those days are in the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months. But I want you to enjoy those days,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘I want the people in Judah to be happy. So speak true words and live quiet lives.’
• Leviticus 26:26The people will not have any food. A woman will bake one loaf for ten families. They will weigh it to give one part to each family. When a person eats his piece of bread, he will still be hungry.
• Deuteronomy 28:52They will attack all your towns, everywhere in the land that the Lord your God has given to you. They will knock down the strong walls that you thought would keep you safe. They will make their camps around your towns until they can take the towns for themselves.
• Lamentations 4:4The mouths of the babies in Jerusalem are completely dry, because they are so thirsty. And the young children ask for food, but nobody gives them anything to eat.
• Ezekiel 4:9You must take some grains like wheat and barley, and different kinds of beans. Then put them all into a jar. Use them to make bread for yourself. You must eat this for 390 days while you lie on your left side.
• Ezekiel 5:10When I punish you like that, you will have no food to eat. Parents will be so hungry that they will eat their children. Children will eat their parents. I will chase away those few people who are still alive. They will go to all parts of the earth.
• Ezekiel 7:15The enemy is ready to attack outside the city. Inside the city, there is disease and famine. Enemy soldiers will kill the people who are in the country. Famine and disease will kill everyone who is in the city.
• Ezekiel 14:21This is what the Almighty Lord says: It will be terrible for Jerusalem's people when I punish them in all these four ways. I will send enemy soldiers with swords. I will send famine. I will send wild animals. And I will send disease. That will cause both people and animals to die.
• Jeremiah 37:21Then King Zedekiah told his officers to put Jeremiah in the palace yard where the guards would watch him. He told them to get bread every day from the bakers in the city and give it to Jeremiah. They should do that until there was no more bread in the city. So they kept Jeremiah as prisoner in the palace yard with the royal guards.
• Jeremiah 38:2They had heard him say this: ‘The Lord says, “Any people who stay in this city will die. War or famine or disease will kill them. But those people who leave the city will not die. If they put themselves under the power of Babylon's soldiers, they will live.”

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