Jeremiah 20:16

16 Then hath that man been as the cities, That Jehovah overthrew, and repented not, And he hath heard a cry at morning, And a shout at time of 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 Cursed [is] the day in which I was born, The day that my mother bare me, Let it not be blessed!
15 Cursed [is] the man who bore tidings [to] my father, saying, `Born to thee hath been a child -- a male,' Making him very glad!
16 Then hath that man been as the cities, That Jehovah overthrew, and repented not, And he hath heard a cry at morning, And a shout at time of noon.
17 Because he hath not put me to death from the womb, And my mother is to me -- my grave, And her womb a pregnancy age-during.
18 Why [is] this? from the womb I have come out, To see labour and sorrow, Yea, consumed in shame are my days!
Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.