The Meaning of 2 Kings 25:3 Explained

2 Kings 25:3

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.

YLT: on the ninth of the month -- when the famine is severe in the city, and there hath not been bread for the people of the land,

Darby: On the ninth of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.

ASV: On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does 2 Kings 25:3 Mean?

Study Notes

fourth month
i.e. July.

Context Summary

2 Kings 25:1-12 - The Captivity Made Complete
As the final catastrophe approaches, the historian becomes more minute in his dates, marking the month and the day. From Ezekiel 24:1 we gather that on the very day when the foe made his appearance before Jerusalem, the fact was revealed to Ezekiel in Babylon, and the fate of the city made clear. Jeremiah besought Zedekiah to submit, but to no purpose, Jeremiah 38:17. The siege lasted eighteen months, and its calamities may be gathered from Lamentations 2:20-21; Lamentations 4:3-20. Finally famine triumphed, Lamentations 4:8; Lamentations 4:10; Ezekiel 5:10. A third of the population perished of hunger and plague, Ezekiel 5:12.
Such is the divine judgment upon sin. God pleads long with man, but if man will not turn, then God whets His sword, and becomes terrible in His retribution. Amid all this catastrophe, however, we recall the tears of the book of Lamentations, like those of Jesus afterward. There is that in God which sorrows as He chastises, and causes Him to say, "How shall I make thee as Admah, and set thee as Zeboim?" Deuteronomy 29:23; Hosea 11:8. Notice how, in putting out the eyes of Zedekiah, two prophecies which appeared to be contradictory were reconciled and fulfilled, Jeremiah 32:5; Jeremiah 34:3; and Ezekiel 12:13. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 25

1  Jerusalem is besieged
4  Zedekiah taken, his sons slain, his eyes put out
8  Nebuzaradan defaces the city, exiles the remnant, except a few poor laborers;
13  and carries away the treasures
18  The nobles are slain at Riblah
22  Gedaliah, who was over those who remained, being slain, the rest flee into Egypt
27  Evil-Merodach advances Jehoiachin in his court

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 25:3 mean?

By [day] nine of the [fourth] month and had become so severe the famine in the city that no there was food for the people of the land
בְּתִשְׁעָ֣ה לַחֹ֔דֶשׁ וַיֶּחֱזַ֥ק הָרָעָ֖ב בָּעִ֑יר וְלֹא־ הָ֥יָה לֶ֖חֶם לְעַ֥ם הָאָֽרֶץ

בְּתִשְׁעָ֣ה  By  [day]  nine 
Parse: Preposition-b, Number, masculine singular
Root: תֵּשַׁע  
Sense: nine, nonad.
לַחֹ֔דֶשׁ  of  the  [fourth]  month 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: the new moon, month, monthly.
וַיֶּחֱזַ֥ק  and  had  become  so  severe 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָזַק  
Sense: to strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous, be firm, grow firm, be resolute, be sore.
הָרָעָ֖ב  the  famine 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: רָעָב  
Sense: famine, hunger.
בָּעִ֑יר  in  the  city 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
וְלֹא־  that  no 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
הָ֥יָה  there  was 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
לֶ֖חֶם  food 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֶחֶם  
Sense: bread, food, grain.
לְעַ֥ם  for  the  people 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
הָאָֽרֶץ  of  the  land 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.