Jeremiah 26:19

19 "Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not 1fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, and 2the LORD changed His mind about the misfortune which He had pronounced against them? But we are 3committing a great evil against 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 Then some of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying,
18 "Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, 'Thus the LORD of hosts has said, "Zion will be plowed as a field, And Jerusalem will become ruins, And the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest."'
19 "Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD , and the LORD changed His mind about the misfortune which He had pronounced against them? But we are committing a great evil against ourselves."
20 Indeed, there was also a man who prophesied in the name of the LORD , Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land words similar to all those of Jeremiah.
21 When King Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and all the officials heard his words, then the king sought to put him to death; but Uriah heard it, and he was afraid and fled and went to Egypt.

Cross References 3

  • 1. 2 Chronicles 29:6-11; 2 Chronicles 32:26; Is 37:1, 4, 15-20
  • 2. Exodus 32:14; 2 Samuel 24:16
  • 3. Jeremiah 44:7; Habakkuk 2:10

Footnotes 1

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