Jeremiah 20:16

16 And let that man be as the cities which Jehovah overthrew, and repented not; and let him hear a cry in the morning, and a shouting at noonday,

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 be the day wherein I was born; let not the day wherein my mother bore me be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad!
16 And let that man be as the cities which Jehovah overthrew, and repented not; and let him hear a cry in the morning, and a shouting at noonday,
17 because he slew me not from the womb. Or would that my mother had been my grave, and her womb always great [with me]!
18 Wherefore came I forth from the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed in shame?
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.