2 Kings 6:25-27

Amplified Bible

²⁵Now there was a great famine in Samaria; and they ^[a]besieged it until a ^[b]donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a ^[c]kab of ^[d]dove’s dung for five shekels of silver. ²⁶As the king of Israel (Jehoram) was passing by on the [city] wall a woman cried out to him, “Help, my lord, O king!” ²⁷He said, “If the Lord does not help you, from where shall I get you help? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?”

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Footnotes

2 Kings 6:25 The purpose of a siege was to starve out or weaken the inhabitants of a fortified city, minimizing risk to the attacking army. The success of the siege depended on whether the city was sufficiently stocked with food and water. Here, with a famine, not only does the city fall well short of adequate provisions, but those inhabitants who have a surplus of anything edible or useful make the situation even worse by engaging in price-gouging.
2 Kings 6:25 Apparently the famine was so severe that the inhabitants were purchasing products that were barely edible as well as being ceremonially unclean.
2 Kings 6:25 One kab is about two quarts.
2 Kings 6:25 Normally dung was used as fertilizer or for fuel; however, in this verse “dove’s dung” may be a nickname for a wild pealike vegetable.