מלכים ב, פרק ו׳, פסוק כ״ז

A desperate plea during a devastating famine is met with a king's stark admission of powerlessness. When a starving woman cries out to the monarch, he immediately assumes she is begging for food and charity [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. He responds by framing his inability to help as a direct condition of God's will, explaining that if God does not step in to save her, the king certainly cannot [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. While a ruler is normally responsible for executing justice and providing for the needy, a crisis of this magnitude shifts the burden entirely. The power to sustain life now rests exclusively in God's hands, and without His intervention, all hope is lost [מלבי״ם].

Beyond merely admitting his helplessness, the king actively deflects the blame toward heaven. By pointing out that God is the one who brought the famine and is currently withholding salvation, the king argues that he cannot be faulted for his failure to act. He reasons that a person can only be accused of refusing to save someone if they actually possess the power to do so [רלב״ג, מצודת דוד].

To vividly illustrate his lack of resources, the king rhetorically asks whether he is expected to provide her with grain or wine. He specifically mentions agricultural sites like the threshing floor and the winepress [מצודת ציון] because these once-bountiful places sit completely empty. The severity of the crisis meant that the people were unable to gather any crops to fill them, leaving the royal reserves depleted and the king with absolutely nothing to offer [רלב״ג, ביאור שטיינזלץ].