Jeremiah 26:19

19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all [the people of] Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and plead for the Lord's favor,[a] and did not the Lord relent concerning the disaster He had pronounced against them? We are about to bring great harm on ourselves!"

Jeremiah 26:19 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 26:19

Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to
death?
&c.] No, they did not: neither the king, by his own authority; nor the sanhedrim, the great court of judicature, for the nation; they never sought to take away his life, nor sat in council about it; they never arraigned him, and much less condemned him: did he not fear the Lord, and besought the Lord;
that is, Hezekiah; he did, as knowing that Micah was a prophet of the Lord, and sent by him; wherefore he received his prophecy with great awe and reverence, as coming from the Lord, and made his supplications to him that he would avert the judgments threatened: and the Lord repented of the evil which he had pronounced against
them?
the king and his people, the city and the temple; and so the threatened evil came not upon them in their days: thus might we procure great evil against our souls;
should we put Jeremiah to death: it is therefore much more advisable to do as Hezekiah did, pray unto the Lord to avert the threatened evil, or otherwise it will be worse with us. This precedent is urged to strengthen the decree of the council in favour of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 26:19 In-Context

17 Some of the elders of the land stood up and said to all the assembled people,
18 "Micah the Moreshite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah and said to all the people of Judah, 'This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become ruins, and the temple mount a forested hill.'
19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all [the people of] Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and plead for the Lord's favor, and did not the Lord relent concerning the disaster He had pronounced against them? We are about to bring great harm on ourselves!"
20 Another man was also prophesying in the name of the Lord-Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like all those of Jeremiah.
21 King Jehoiakim, all his warriors, and all the officials heard his words, and the king tried to put him to death. When Uriah heard, he fled in fear and went to Egypt.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or and appease the Lord
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