Jeremiah 20:16

16 May that man be like the towns the LORD destroyed without pity. May that man hear loud sobs in the morning. May he hear a battle cry at noon.

Jeremiah 20:16 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 20:16

And let that man be as the cities which the Lord overthrew,
&c.] In his fury, as the Targum and Septuagint add. Meaning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, who were utterly destroyed, and were never recovered: and repented not;
whose sentence God never repented of, nor revoked: this was very severe and uncharitable, to wish for so sore a destruction upon an innocent person; and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide;
as soon as he is up in the morning, the first thing that salutes his ears, let it be the noise of an enemy invading the city he dwells in; and by noon let him hear the shouting of him, having broke in, and gotten the victory, seizing the plunder.

Jeremiah 20:16 In-Context

14 May the day I was born be under a curse! May the day I was born to my mother not be blessed!

15 May the man who brought my father the news be under a curse! He's the one who made my father very glad. He said, "You have had a baby! It's a boy!"

16 May that man be like the towns the LORD destroyed without pity. May that man hear loud sobs in the morning. May he hear a battle cry at noon.

17 He should have killed me in my mother's body. He should have made my mother my grave. He should have let her body stay large forever.

18 Why did I ever come out of my mother's body? I've seen nothing but trouble and sorrow. My days will end in shame.