Deuteronomy 28:55 describes the extreme desperation a people would reach during a siege, when a man’s hunger and fear would become so severe that he would refuse to share the little food he had with his own children. Moses speaks these words as part of a long list of curses that would come upon Israel if the nation turned away from God’s covenant. The warning is addressed to the whole nation of Israel, as they prepare to enter the land God promised them.
So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing left to him, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy will distress you in all your gates.
Deuteronomy 28:55 (WEB)
What Deuteronomy 28:55 Means
The verse begins by describing a person who would hold back food from his own children. It names the reason plainly: “because he has nothing left to him.” The hunger of a siege has reduced the household to almost nothing, and the person’s survival instincts have taken over. The verse does not describe a cruel man by nature. It describes what happens when famine drives people to a point they would never choose in ordinary times.
The phrase “in the siege and in the distress” tells you the cause. An enemy has surrounded the city, cut off supplies, and turned daily life into a struggle for bare survival. The words “in all your gates” point to the city gates, where the siege would be felt in every entrance and every street. The verse is not a promise or a command. It is a description of a horror that the covenant curses warned would come if Israel abandoned the Lord.
The Context of Deuteronomy 28:55
Deuteronomy is Moses’ final set of addresses to Israel on the plains of Moab, shortly before they cross the Jordan River. Traditionally Moses is credited with the book, and the first audience was the generation that had come out of Egypt and was about to enter Canaan. Chapter 28 lays out two lists, one of blessings for obedience and one of curses for disobedience, and the curses grow steadily darker toward the end of the chapter.
The verses just before and after describe the siege in increasing detail, moving from the walls falling down to the agony inside the city. Verse 53 introduces the horror of eating one’s own children, and verses 54 through 57 show how it touches even the most gentle and refined people. Seeing this in its setting makes clear that the passage is a warning about covenant unfaithfulness, not a comment on the worth of any individual person.
Key Phrases in Deuteronomy 28:55
Matthew 6:31-33
31 “Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.
(WEB)
Jesus addresses anxiety about food and clothing and points his listeners to the Father who knows their needs. Reading this alongside Deuteronomy 28:55 shows the contrast between fear that consumes and trust that seeks God first.
Psalm 37:25
I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread.
(WEB)
The psalmist reflects on a lifetime of watching God care for the righteous. Placed beside Deuteronomy 28:55, it reminds the reader that the Lord’s faithfulness is not erased by seasons of hardship.
A Short Prayer From Deuteronomy 28:55
Lord, you see the fears that tighten in our chests when money runs short or the future feels uncertain. Keep our hearts from turning hard when we feel empty. Teach us to trust you with what we have and what we lack, and to share with those you have given us to love. Guard our families from the fear that breaks down generosity, and draw us back to you whenever we wander. Give us faith that holds even when the walls around us seem to close in. Amen.
