New Living Translation
Deuteronomy 28:53
53“The siege and terrible distress of the enemy’s attack will be so severe that you will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you.
Deuteronomy 28:53 in other versions
- King James Version (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:
- New International Version (NIV)Because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you.
- New King James Version (NKJV)You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you.
Context of Deuteronomy 28:53
51Its armies will devour your livestock and crops, and you will be destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine, olive oil, calves, or lambs, and you will starve to death. 52They will attack your cities until all the fortified walls in your land—the walls you trusted to protect you—are knocked down. They will attack all the towns in the land the Lord your God has given you. “The siege and terrible distress of the enemy’s attack will be so severe that you will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you. 54The most tenderhearted man among you will have no compassion for his own brother, his beloved wife, and his surviving children. 55He will refuse to share with them the flesh he is devouring—the flesh of one of his own children—because he has nothing else to eat during the siege and terrible distress that your enemy will inflict on all your towns.
Read all of Deuteronomy 28Deuteronomy 28:53 word by word
וְאָכַלְתָּ֣ פְרִֽי־בִטְנְךָ֗ בְּשַׂ֤ר בָּנֶ֙יךָ֙ וּבְנֹתֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָֽתַן־לְךָ֖ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ בְּמָצוֹר֙ וּבְמָצ֔וֹק אֲשֶׁר־יָצִ֥יק לְךָ֖ אֹיְבֶֽךָ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And thou shalt eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- the fruitפְּרִיperîy · fruitH6529
- of thine own bodyבֶּ֫טֶןbeţen · belly: wombH990
- the fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
- of thy sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- and of thy daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
- which the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- hath givenנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- thee, in the siegeמָצוֹרmâtsôr mâtsûr · siegeH4692
- and in the straitnessמָצוֹקmâtsôq · distressH4689
- wherewith thine enemiesאֹיֵב'ôyêb 'ôyêb · enemyH341
- shall distressצוּקtsûq · to pressH6693
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 28:53
- Deuteronomy 28:18Your children and your crops will be cursed. The offspring of your herds and flocks will be cursed.
- Leviticus 26:29Then you will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters.
- 2 Kings 6:28But then the king asked, “What is the matter?” She replied, “This woman said to me: ‘Come on, let’s eat your son today, then we will eat my son tomorrow.’
- Jeremiah 19:9I will see to it that your enemies lay siege to the city until all the food is gone. Then those trapped inside will eat their own sons and daughters and friends. They will be driven to utter despair.’
- Lamentations 2:20“O Lord, think about this! Should you treat your own people this way? Should mothers eat their own children, those they once bounced on their knees? Should priests and prophets be killed within the Lord’s Temple?
- Lamentations 4:10Tenderhearted women have cooked their own children. They have eaten them to survive the siege.
- Ezekiel 5:10Parents will eat their own children, and children will eat their parents. I will punish you and scatter to the winds the few who survive.
- Matthew 24:19How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 28:53
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15-68Verses 15-68 The curses correspond in form and number Deuteronomy 28:15-19 to the blessings Deuteronomy 28:3-6, and the special modes in which these threats should be executed are described in five groups of denunciations Deuteronomy 28:20-26 First series of judgments. The curse of God should rest on all they did, and should issue in manifold forms of disease, in famine, and in defeat in war. Deuteronomy 28:20 Vexation - Rather, confusion: the word in the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 45-68Verses 45-68 If God inflicts vengeance, what miseries his curse can bring upon mankind, even in this present world! Yet these are but the beginning of sorrows to those under the curse of God. What then will be the misery of that world where their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched! Observe what is here said of the wrath of God, which should come and remain upon the Israelites for their sins. It is amazing to think that a people so long the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-68This section explains the conditions for receiving the covenant blessing, the types of blessings, and the curses that will occur if people ignore or disobey these rules (28:1–14; 28:15–68).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 53-5753-57. And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body--(See 2Ki 6:29; La 4:10). 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.Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 28:53
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- 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
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