2 Kings 6:28

Young's Literal Translation

And the king saith to her, `What -- to thee?' and she saith, `This woman said unto me, Give thy son, and we eat him to-day, and my son we eat to-morrow;

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then the king asked her, “What’s the matter?”

Hebrew Names Version
The king said to her, What ails you? She answered, This woman said to me, Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.

King James Version
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.

English Standard Version
And the king asked her, "What is your trouble?" She answered, "This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'

New Century Version
Then the king said to her, "What is your trouble?" She answered, "This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we can eat him today. Then we will eat my son tomorrow.'

New English Translation
Then the king asked her, "What's your problem?" She answered, "This woman said to me, ‘Hand over your son; we'll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow.'

Amplified Bible
And the king said to her, "What is the matter with you?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son so we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'

New American Standard Bible
Then the king said to her, "What is on your mind?" And she said, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son so that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'

Geneva Bible (1587)
Also the King said vnto her, What ayleth thee? And she answered, This woman sayde vnto me, Giue thy sonne, that we may eate him to day, and we will eate my sonne to morowe,

Legacy Standard Bible
And the king said to her, "What is the matter with you?" And she said, "This woman said to me, ‘Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'

Contemporary English Version
Then he asked, "What's the matter anyway?" The woman answered, "Another woman and I were so hungry that we agreed to eat our sons. She said if we ate my son one day, we could eat hers the next day.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then the king asked her, "What's troubling you?" She answered, "This woman said to me, ‘Give me your son, so that we can eat him today; and we'll eat my son tomorrow.'

Darby Translation
And the king said to her, What aileth thee? And she said, This woman said to me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow.

Easy-to-Read Version
Then he said to her, "What is your trouble?" She answered, "This woman said to me, ‘Give me your son so that we can eat him today. Then we will eat my son tomorrow.'

George Lamsa Translation
And the king said to her, What troubles you? And she said to him, This woman said to me, Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.

Good News Translation
What's your trouble?" She answered, "The other day this woman here suggested that we eat my child, and then eat her child the next day.

Lexham English Bible
The king said to her, "What is the problem?" Then the woman said, "This woman said to me, ‘Give me your son, and let us eat him today, then tomorrow we will eat my son.'

Literal Translation
And the king said to her, What ails you? And she said, This woman said to me, Give your son and we will eat him today; and tomorrow we will eat my son.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the kynge sayde vnto her: What ayleth ye? She sayde: This woman sayde vnto me: Geue vs yi sonne, that we maye eate him, tomorow wyll we eate my sonne.

American Standard Version
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.

Bible in Basic English
And the king said to her, What is troubling you? And she said in answer, This woman said to me, Give your son to be our food today, and we will have my son tomorrow.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the king sayde vnto her: What wilt thou? She aunswered: Yonder woman sayd vnto me, Bring thy sonne, that we may eate him to day, and we will eate myne to morowe.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
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.

King James Version (1611)
And the king said vnto her, What aileth thee? And shee answered, This woman said vnto me, Giue thy sonne, that we may eate him to day, and wee will eate my sonne to morrow.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the king said to her, What is the matter with thee? And the woman said to him, This woman said to me, Give thy son, and we will eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow.

English Revised Version
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 today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.

Berean Standard Bible
Then the king asked her, "What is the matter?" And she answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give up your son, and we will eat him today, and tomorrow we will eat my son.'

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And sche answeride, This womman seide to me, Yyue thi sone, that we ete hym to dai, and we schulen ete my sone to morewe.

Update Bible Version
And the king said to her, What ails you? And she answered, This woman said to me, Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the king said to her, What aileth thee? and she answered, This woman said to me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow.

World English Bible
The king said to her, What ails you? She answered, This woman said to me, Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.

New King James Version
Then the king said to her, "What is troubling you?" And she answered, "This woman said to me, "Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'

New Living Translation
But 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.'

New Life Bible
Then the king said to her, "What is your trouble?" And she answered, "This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, so we may eat him today. And we will eat my son tomorrow.'

New Revised Standard
But then the king asked her, "What is your complaint?" She answered, "This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son; we will eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the king said to her - What aileth thee? And she said - This woman, said unto me - Give thy son, that we may eat him, to-day, and, my son, will we eat to-morrow.

Douay-Rheims Bible
This woman said to me: Give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.

Revised Standard Version
And the king asked her, "What is your trouble?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'

THE MESSAGE
The king continued, "Tell me your story." She said, "This woman came to me and said, ‘Give up your son and we'll have him for today's supper; tomorrow we'll eat my son.' So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I told her, ‘Your turn—bring your son so we can have him for supper.' But she had hidden her son away."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And the king said to her, "What is the matter with you?" And she answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'

Contextual Overview

²⁴ And it cometh to pass afterwards, that Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathereth all his camp, and goeth up, and layeth siege to Samaria, ²⁵ and there is a great famine in Samaria, and lo, they are laying siege to it, till the head of an ass is at eighty silverlings, and a forth of the cab of dovesdung at five silverlings. ²⁶ And it cometh to pass, the king of Israel is passing by on the wall, and a woman hath cried unto him, saying, `Save, my lord, O king.' <sup>27</sup> And he saith, `Jehovah doth not save thee -- whence do I save thee? out of the threshing-floor, or out of the wine-vat?' ²⁸ And the king saith to her, `What -- to thee?' and she saith, `This woman said unto me, Give thy son, and we eat him to-day, and my son we eat to-morrow; ²⁹ and we boil my son and eat him, and I say unto her on the next day, Give thy son, and we eat him; and she hideth her son.' ³⁰ And it cometh to pass, at the king's hearing the words of the woman, that he rendeth his garments, and he is passing by on the wall, and the people see, and lo, the sackcloth [is] on his flesh within. ³¹ And he saith, `Thus doth God do to me, and thus He doth add -- if it remain -- the head of Elisha son of Shaphat -- upon him this day.' <sup>32</sup> And Elisha is sitting in his house, and the elders are sitting with him, and [the king] sendeth a man from before him; before the messenger doth come unto him, even he himself said unto the elders, `Have ye seen that this son of the murderer hath sent to turn aside my head? see, at the coming in of the messenger, shut the door, and ye have held him fast at the door, is not the sound of the feet of his lord behind him?' ³³ He is yet speaking with them, and lo, the messenger is coming down unto him, and he saith, `Lo, this [is] the evil from Jehovah: what -- do I wait for Jehovah any more?'

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

What aileth thee: Genesis 21:17, Judges 18:23, 1 Samuel 1:8, 2 Samuel 14:5, Psalms 114:5, Isaiah 22:1

Give thy son: Leviticus 26:29, Deuteronomy 28:53-57, Isaiah 9:20, Isaiah 9:21, Isaiah 49:15, Lamentations 4:10, Ezekiel 5:10, Matthew 24:18-21, Luke 23:29

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 6:25 - a great famine Job 39:16 - as Lamentations 2:20 - Shall the women

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the king said unto her, what aileth thee?.... His passion subsiding, or pitying her as in distress, and supposing that there might be something particular and pressing in her case:

and she answered,

this woman said unto me; who was now with her, and to whom she pointed:

give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow; and this was agreed to between them, that first one should be eaten, and then the other, and that they should feed upon one as long as it would last, and then on the other; for it is not to be limited precisely to a day and tomorrow.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The king had assumed that the cry of the woman was for food. Her manner indicated that it was not so. He therefore proceeded to inquire what she wanted of him.

This woman - Both women, it would seem, were present; and the aggrieved one pointed to the other.