The Meaning of 2 Kings 19:26 Explained

2 Kings 19:26

KJV: Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up.

YLT: And their inhabitants are feeble-handed, They were broken down, and are dried up, They have been the herb of the field, And the greenness of the tender grass, Grass of the roofs, And blasted corn -- before it hath risen up!

Darby: And their inhabitants were powerless, They were dismayed and put to shame; They were as the growing grass, and as the green herb, As the grass on the housetops, and grain blighted before it be grown up.

ASV: Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as grain blasted before it is grown up.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore their inhabitants  were of small  power,  they were dismayed  and confounded;  they were [as] the grass  of the field,  and [as] the green  herb,  [as] the grass  on the housetops,  and [as corn] blasted  before  it be grown up. 

What does 2 Kings 19:26 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 19:25-37 - The Answer Of The King Of Kings
These verses, taken with Isaiah 10:5-15, form a most suggestive and sublime comment on the words, "the Lord reigneth." They show us God using the Assyrian as "the rod of His anger," and working personally and mightily through the politics of the world. Isaiah's faith, through all this terrible crisis, was the one bulwark behind which king and people lay entrenched. What a gift one such man is to an entire people! His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord, and he cannot be made afraid by evil tidings.
It has been suggested that this was a Sabbatic year, the produce of which sufficed for two years, 2 Kings 19:29. In any case, the Sabbatic peace and calm had entered Isaiah's soul. They who have learned to stay themselves on God may sing triumphal odes, in sure conviction of coming victory. Thus, also, it befell. The angel of God's deliverance wrought through some terrible outbreak of plague, and thus the tents were strewn with the silent corpses of men who had yesterday been full of manly vigor. The Lord was Judge, Lawgiver, and King; and saved His people, as the mother-bird, with outspread wing, protects her brood against the hawk. God's presence, like an invisible river, surrounded and saved His people. "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge," Psalms 46:11. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 19

1  Hezekiah, in mourning, sends to Isaiah to pray for them
6  Isaiah comforts them
8  Sennacherib, going to encounter Tirhakah, sends a blasphemous letter to Hezekiah
14  Hezekiah's prayer
20  Isaiah's prophecy of the destruction of Sennacherib, and the good of Zion
35  An angel slays the Assyrians
36  Sennacherib is slain by his own sons

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 19:26 mean?

Therefore their inhabitants had little power they were dismayed and confounded they were [as] the grass of the field and the green herb [As] the grass on the housetops and [grain] blighted before it is grown
וְיֹֽשְׁבֵיהֶן֙ קִצְרֵי־ יָ֔ד חַ֖תּוּ וַיֵּבֹ֑שׁוּ הָי֞וּ עֵ֤שֶׂב שָׂדֶה֙ וִ֣ירַק דֶּ֔שֶׁא חֲצִ֣יר גַּגּ֔וֹת וּשְׁדֵפָ֖ה לִפְנֵ֥י קָמָֽה

וְיֹֽשְׁבֵיהֶן֙  Therefore  their  inhabitants  had 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, third person feminine plural
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
קִצְרֵי־  little 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural construct
Root: קָצֵר  
Sense: short, impatient.
יָ֔ד  power 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
חַ֖תּוּ  they  were  dismayed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: חָתַת  
Sense: to be shattered, be dismayed, be broken, be abolished, be afraid.
וַיֵּבֹ֑שׁוּ  and  confounded 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: בֹּושׁ 
Sense: to put to shame, be ashamed, be disconcerted, be disappointed.
הָי֞וּ  they  were 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
עֵ֤שֶׂב  [as]  the  grass 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עֵשֶׂב  
Sense: herb, herbage, grass, green plants.
שָׂדֶה֙  of  the  field 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׂדֶה 
Sense: field, land.
וִ֣ירַק  and  the  green 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: יָרָק  
Sense: herbs, herbage, vegetables, garden greens.
דֶּ֔שֶׁא  herb 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: דֶּשֶׁא  
Sense: grass, new grass, green herb, vegetation, young.
חֲצִ֣יר  [As]  the  grass  on 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: חָצִיר 
Sense: grass, leek, green grass, herbage.
גַּגּ֔וֹת  the  housetops 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: גָּג  
Sense: roof, top, housetop.
וּשְׁדֵפָ֖ה  and  [grain]  blighted 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: שְׁדֵפָה 
Sense: blighted or blasted thing, blighted, blasted.
לִפְנֵ֥י  before 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
קָמָֽה  it  is  grown 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: קָמָה  
Sense: standing grain.