Jeremiah 20:16

16 And let that man be like the cities that Yahweh demolished without regret, and let him hear a cry for help in the morning, and an alarm at the 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 be [the] day [on] which I was born, let not the day [on] which my mother gave birth to me be blessed.

15 Cursed be the man who brought the news [to] my father, {saying}, "A child is born to you, a son!" and he made him very glad.

16 And let that man be like the cities that Yahweh demolished without regret, and let him hear a cry for help in the morning, and an alarm at the time of noon.

17 Because he did not kill me in [the] womb, so that my mother would have been for me my grave, and [her] womb [would be] pregnant forever.

18 {Why} did I come out from [the] womb, to see toil, and sorrow, and [to] {end my days in shame}?