| Barnes' Notes on the Bible Thus might we procure ... - Rather, And we should commit a great evil against our own souls; i. e., by putting Jeremiah to death, we should commit a sin which would prove a great misfortune to ourselves.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleDid Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death?.... 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.
Geneva Study BibleDid Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? did he not fear the LORD, and beseech the LORD, and the LORD repented of the {k} evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls. (k) So that the city was not destroyed, but by a miracle was delivered out of the hands of Sennacherib.
Wesley's Notes 26:19 Thus - Now, if we should take a quite contrary course, and put this man to death, we should do ourselves no good, but procure great evil against our souls; that is against ourselves.
King James Translators' Notesthe LORD, and the: Heb. the face of the LORD, etc
Scofield Reference NotesMargin fear See Scofield Note: "Ps 19:9". Margin repented See Scofield Note: "Zech 8:14".
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary19. Hezekiah, so far from killing him, was led "to fear the Lord," and pray for remission of the sentence against Judah (2Ch 32:26). Lord repented-(Ex 32:14; 2Sa 24:16). Thus-if we kill Jeremiah.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary26:16-24 When secure sinners are threatened with taking away the Spirit of God, and the kingdom of God, it is what is warranted from the word of God. Hezekiah who protected Micah, prospered. Did Jehoiakim, who slew Urijah, prosper? The examples of bad men, and the bad consequences of their sins, should deter from what is evil. Urijah was faithful in delivering his message, but faulty in leaving his work. And the Lord was pleased to permit him to lose his life, while Jeremiah was protected in danger. Those are safest who most simply trust in the Lord, whatever their outward circumstances may be; and that He has all men's hearts in his hands, encourages us to trust him in the way of duty. He will honour and recompense those who show kindness to such as are persecuted for his sake. | 
