English Standard Version
Jeremiah 20:16
16Let that man be like the cities that the Lord overthrew without pity; let him hear a cry in the morning and an alarm at noon,
Jeremiah 20:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And let that man be as the cities which the Lord overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide;
- New International Version (NIV)May that man be like the towns the Lord overthrew without pity. May he hear wailing in the morning, a battle cry at noon.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And let that man be like the cities Which the Lord overthrew, and did not relent; Let him hear the cry in the morning And the shouting at noon,
- New Living Translation (NLT)Let him be destroyed like the cities of old that the Lord overthrew without mercy. Terrify him all day long with battle shouts,
Context of Jeremiah 20:16
14Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed! 15Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, "A son is born to you," making him very glad. Let that man be like the cities that the Lord overthrew without pity; let him hear a cry in the morning and an alarm at noon, 17because he did not kill me in the womb; so my mother would have been my grave, and her womb forever great. 18Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?
Read all of Jeremiah 20Jeremiah 20:16 word by word
וְהָיָה֙ הָאִ֣ישׁ הַה֔וּא כֶּֽעָרִ֛ים אֲשֶׁר־הָפַ֥ךְ יְהוָ֖ה וְלֹ֣א נִחָ֑ם וְשָׁמַ֤ע זְעָקָה֙ בַּבֹּ֔קֶר וּתְרוּעָ֖ה בְּעֵ֥ת צָהֳרָֽיִם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And let that manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- be as the citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- which the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- overthrewהָפַךְhâphak · to overturnH2015
- and repentedנָחַםnâcham · to be sorry: comfortH5162
- not: and let him hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- the cryזְעָקָהza‛aq ze‛âqâh · outcryH2201
- in the morningבֹּ֫קֶרbôqer · morningH1242
- and the shoutingתְּרוּעָהterû‛âh · shoutH8643
- at noontideצֹ֫הַרtsôhar · middayH6672
- at noontideעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
Cross-references for Jeremiah 20:16
- Genesis 19:24Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven.
- Deuteronomy 29:23the whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath—
- Hosea 11:8How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.
- Amos 4:11"I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet you did not return to me," declares the Lord.
- Zephaniah 2:9Therefore, as I live," declares the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, "Moab shall become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste forever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them."
- Luke 17:29but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—
- 2 Peter 2:6if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
- Jude 1:7just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
- Jeremiah 18:8and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it.
- Jeremiah 26:13Now therefore mend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you.
- Jonah 3:4Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!"
- Jonah 4:2And he prayed to the Lord and said, "O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.
- Jeremiah 4:19My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh the walls of my heart! My heart is beating wildly; I cannot keep silent, for I hear the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
- Jeremiah 18:22May a cry be heard from their houses, when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them! For they have dug a pit to take me and laid snares for my feet.
- Jeremiah 48:3"A voice! A cry from Horonaim, 'Desolation and great destruction!'
- Ezekiel 21:22Into his right hand comes the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth with murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build siege towers.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 20:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16And let him hear the cry - Let him be in continual alarms.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7-18Verses 7-18 In the rest of the chapter we have an outbreak of deep emotion, of which the first part ends in a cry of hope Jeremiah 20:13, followed nevertheless by curses upon the day of his birth. Was this the result of feelings wounded by the indignities of a public scourging and a night spent in the stocks? Or was it not the mental agony of knowing that his ministry had (as it seemed) failed? He stands indeed before the multitudes with unbending…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-18Verses 14-18 When grace has the victory, it is good to be ashamed of our folly, to admire the goodness of God, and be warned to guard our spirits another time. See how strong the temptation was, over which the prophet got the victory by Divine assistance! He is angry that his first breath was not his last. While we remember that these wishes are not recorded for us to utter the like, we may learn good lessons from them. See how much those who think they…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16The ancient cities were likely Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24–29).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-1814-18. The contrast between the spirit of this passage and the preceding thanksgiving is to be explained thus: to show how great was the deliverance (Jr 20:13), he subjoins a picture of what his wounded spirit had been previous to his deliverance; I had said in the time of my imprisonment, "Cursed be the day"; my feeling was that of Job (Job 3:3, 10, 11, whose words Jeremiah therefore copies). Though Jeremiah's zeal had been stirred up, not so much for…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 20:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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