Jeremiah 19:9

I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and distress inflicted on them by their enemies who seek their lives.’

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God delivers this judgment through Jeremiah to the accompanying officials during a prophetic sign act involving a shattered jar. The declaration follows immediately after the warning that Jerusalem will become a desolation and object of scorn.

The words — הַאֲכַלְתִּי/ם (ha.'a.khal.Ti/m) literally means "I will make eat/ them," while בְּשַׂר (be.Sar) denotes "flesh" and בְּנֵי/הֶם (be.nei./Hem) translates to "sons/ their." These lexical items form the core of the cannibalism warning without implying reciprocal eating by the speaker.

The thread — The text echoes Leviticus 26:29, which warns of eating the flesh of one's own sons and daughters, and aligns with Lamentations 4:10, which records the historical fulfillment of this siege famine. Isaiah 9:20 further illustrates the broader biblical pattern of unending hunger and desperation during divine judgment.

Why it lands — The passage explicitly describes the physical reality of siege starvation and civil breakdown before drawing any theological conclusion. It demands recognition that covenant rebellion produces concrete, historical consequences that mirror the described devastation.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְהַֽאֲכַלְתִּ֞יםve./ha.'a.khal.Ti/mand/ I will make eat/ them אֶת־'et-<obj.>בְּשַׂ֣רbe.Sar[the] flesh of בְּנֵיהֶ֗םbe.nei./Hemsons/ their וְאֵת֙ve./'Etand/ <obj.>בְּשַׂ֣רbe.Sar[the] flesh of בְּנֹתֵיהֶ֔םbe.no.tei./Hemdaughters/ their וְאִ֥ישׁve./'Ishand/ everyone בְּשַׂר־be.sar-[the] flesh of רֵעֵ֖הוּre.'E./huneighbor/ his יֹאכֵ֑לוּyo.Khe.luthey will eat בְּמָצוֹר֙be./ma.tzOrin/ [the] siege וּבְמָצ֔וֹקu./ve./ma.Tzokand/ in/ [the] distress אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.Sherwhich יָצִ֧יקוּya.Tzi.kuthey will pressלָהֶ֛םla./Hem<to> <the>/ themאֹיְבֵיהֶ֖ם'o.ye.vei./Hemenemies/ their וּמְבַקְשֵׁ֥יu./me.vak.Sheiand/ [those who] seek נַפְשָֽׁם׃naf.Sha/m<of> life/ their

King James Version

And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them.

Cross-references

Isaiah 9:20 They carve out what is on the right, but they are still hungry; they eat what is on the left, but they are still not satisfied. Each one devours the flesh of his own offspring.
Leviticus 26:29 You will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters.
Lamentations 4:10 The hands of compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
Deuteronomy 28:53 Then you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you.
Ezekiel 5:10 As a result, fathers among you will eat their sons, and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments against you and scatter all your remnant to every wind.’
2 Kings 6:26 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”
Lamentations 2:20 Look, O LORD, and consider: Whom have You ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the infants they have nurtured? Should priests and prophets be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?