On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.
We left king Zedekiah in rebellion against the king of Babylon (Kg2 24:20), contriving and endeavouring to shake off his yoke, when he was no way able to do it, nor took the right method by making God his friend first. Now here we have an account of the fatal consequences of that attempt. I. The king of Babylon's army laid siege to Jerusalem, Kg2 25:1.
Commenting on 2 Kings 25:1-7
on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed--In consequence of the close and protracted blockade, the inhabitants were reduced to dreadful extremities; and under the maddening influence of hunger, the most inhuman atrocities were perpetrated (Lam 2:20, Lam 2:22; Lam 4:9-10; Eze 5:10).
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. (c) So much that the mothers ate their children, .