Jeremiah 20:16

14 Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me never be blessed.

15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, saying, “A son is born to you,” bringing him great joy.

May that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without compassion. May he hear an outcry in the morning and a battle cry at noon,

17 because he did not kill me in the womb so that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb forever enlarged.

18 Why did I come out of the womb to see only trouble and sorrow, and to end my days in shame?

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
May that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without compassion. May he hear an outcry in the morning and a battle cry at noon,
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;
WEB
Let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and didn’t repent. Let him hear a cry in the morning, and shouting at noontime,
ASV
And let that man be as the cities which Jehovah overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear a cry in the morning, and shouting at noontime;
DARBY
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,
BLB
And let that man be like the cities that YHWH overthrew, and did not relent; and let him hear an outcry in the morning, and a battle cry at noon!
ÅB
Med den mann skal det gå som med de byer Herren omstyrtet uten skånsel, og han skal høre skrik om morgenen og krigsrop ved middagstid,
OTB
Må den mannen være som byene Herren ødela uten nåde. Må han høre nødens rop om morgenen, og lyden av kamp ved middagstid.
B1930
Med den mann skal det gå som med de byer Herren omstyrtet uten skånsel, og han skal høre skrik om morgenen og krigsrop ved middagstid,

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Jeremiah 18:22

    Let a cry be heard from their houses when You suddenly bring raiders against them, for they have dug a pit to capture me and have hidden snares for my feet.

    Read in context
  • Jeremiah 48:3–4

    A voice cries out from Horonaim: ‘Devastation and great destruction!’

    Read in context
  • Deuteronomy 29:23

    All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His fierce anger.

    Read in context
  • Luke 17:29

    But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

    Read in context
  • Ezekiel 21:22

    In his right hand appears the portent for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to call for the slaughter, to lift a battle cry, to direct the battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp, and to erect a siege wall.

    Read in context
  • Hosea 10:14

    the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be demolished as Shalman devastated Beth-arbel in the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to pieces along with their children.

    Read in context
  • Jonah 3:9–10

    Who knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.”

    Read in context
  • Jeremiah 4:19

    My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm of battle.

    Read in context