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2 Kings 6:24-30
King James Version
2 Kings 6:24-30
King James Version
24 And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
25 And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver.
26 And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.
27 And he said, If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?
28 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.
29 So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.
30 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.
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2 Kings 6:24-30
New International Version
2 Kings 6:24-30
New International Version
Famine in Besieged Samaria
24 Some time later, Ben-Hadad(A) king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege(B) to Samaria. 25 There was a great famine(C) in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels[a] of silver, and a quarter of a cab[b] of seed pods[c](D) for five shekels.[d]
26 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”
27 The king replied, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?” 28 Then he asked her, “What’s the matter?”
She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ 29 So we cooked my son and ate(E) him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him,’ but she had hidden him.”
30 When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore(F) his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and they saw that, under his robes, he had sackcloth(G) on his body.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 6:25 That is, about 2 pounds or about 920 grams
- 2 Kings 6:25 That is, probably about 1/4 pound or about 100 grams
- 2 Kings 6:25 Or of doves’ dung
- 2 Kings 6:25 That is, about 2 ounces or about 58 grams
New International Version (NIV) 
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