New International Version
Jeremiah 20:16
16May that man be like the towns the Lord overthrew without pity. May he hear wailing in the morning, 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;
- 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,
- 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 I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed! 15Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying, “A child is born to you—a son!” May that man be like the towns the Lord overthrew without pity. May he hear wailing in the morning, a battle cry at noon. 17For he did not kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave, her womb enlarged forever. 18Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end 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 down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens.
- Deuteronomy 29:23The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur—nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, which the Lord overthrew in fierce anger.
- Hosea 11:8“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboyim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.
- Amos 4:11“I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord.
- Zephaniah 2:9Therefore, as surely as I live,” declares the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, “surely Moab will become like Sodom, the Ammonites like Gomorrah— a place of weeds and salt pits, a wasteland forever. The remnant of my people will plunder them; the survivors of my nation will inherit their land.”
- Luke 17:29But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
- 2 Peter 2:6if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
- Jude 1:7In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
- Jeremiah 18:8and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.
- Jeremiah 26:13Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the Lord your God. Then the Lord will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you.
- Jonah 3:4Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”
- Jonah 4:2He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.
- Jeremiah 4:19Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry.
- Jeremiah 18:22Let a cry be heard from their houses when you suddenly bring invaders against them, for they have dug a pit to capture me and have hidden snares for my feet.
- Jeremiah 48:3Cries of anguish arise from Horonaim, cries of great havoc and destruction.
- Ezekiel 21:22Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp and to erect siege works.
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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