God’s Word Translation
Jeremiah 20:16
16May that man be like the cities that the Lord destroyed without pity. May he hear a cry of alarm in the morning and a battle cry 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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,
- 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,
Context of Jeremiah 20:16
14Cursed is the day that I was born, the day that my mother gave birth to me. May it not be blessed. 15Cursed is the man who made my father very happy with the news that he had just become the father of a baby boy. May that man be like the cities that the Lord destroyed without pity. May he hear a cry of alarm in the morning and a battle cry at noon. 17If only he had killed me while I was in the womb. Then my mother would have been my grave, and she would have always been pregnant. 18Why did I come out of the womb? All I’ve seen is trouble and grief. I will finish 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 made burning sulfur and fire rain out of heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Deuteronomy 29:23They will see all the soil poisoned with sulfur and salt. Nothing will be planted. Nothing will be growing. There will be no plants in sight. It will be as desolate as Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, cities the Lord destroyed in fierce anger.
- Hosea 11:8“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboim? I have changed my mind. I am deeply moved.
- Amos 4:11I destroyed some of you as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning log snatched from a fire. And you still didn’t return to me, declares the Lord.
- Zephaniah 2:9Therefore, I solemnly swear, as I live,” declares the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, “Moab will become like Sodom, and Ammon will become like Gomorrah: a place of weeds, salt pits, and ruins forever. The faithful few of my people will loot them, and those who are left in my nation will take possession of them.”
- Luke 17:29But on the day that Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from the sky and destroyed all of them.
- 2 Peter 2:6God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed them by burning them to ashes. He made those cities an example to ungodly people of what is going to happen to them.
- Jude 1:7What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities near them is an example for us of the punishment of eternal fire. The people of these cities suffered the same fate that God’s people and the angels did, because they committed sexual sins and engaged in homosexual activities.
- Jeremiah 18:8But suppose the nation that I threatened turns away from doing wrong. Then I will change my plans about the disaster I planned to do to it.
- Jeremiah 26:13Now, change your ways and what you are doing, and listen to the Lord your God. Then the Lord will change his plan about the disaster that he intends to bring on you.
- Jonah 3:4Jonah entered the city and walked for about a day. Then he said, “In forty days Nineveh will be destroyed.”
- Jonah 4:2So he prayed to the Lord, “Lord, isn’t this what I said would happen when I was still in my own country? That’s why I tried to run to Tarshish in the first place. I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, patient, and always ready to forgive and to reconsider your threats of destruction.
- Jeremiah 4:19My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. My heart is beating wildly! My heart is pounding! I can’t keep quiet because I hear a ram’s horn sounding the alarm for war.
- Jeremiah 18:22Make them cry out from their homes when you suddenly send troops against them, because they dug a pit to catch me and hid snares for my feet.
- Jeremiah 48:3People will cry out from Horonaim, “Looting and great destruction!”
- Ezekiel 21:22The omens will indicate that he should go to the right, to Jerusalem. So he will set up his battering rams there, give the order to kill, raise a battle cry, aim the battering rams against the city gates, put up ramps, and set up blockades.
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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