Lectionary Calendar
Monday, April 28th, 2025
the Second Week after Easter
Attention!
For 10¢ a day you can enjoy StudyLight.org ads
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

New Living Translation

Jeremiah 20:16

Let him be destroyed like the cities of old that the Lord overthrew without mercy. Terrify him all day long with battle shouts,

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Jeremiah;   Life;   Murmuring;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Suffering;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Abortion;   Prayer;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Jeremiah;   Noon;   Pity;   Prayer;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Jeremiah;   Job;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Jeremiah (2);   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Funeral Rites;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Let that man be like the citiesthe Lord demolished without compassion.Let him hear an outcry in the morningand a war cry at noontime
Hebrew Names Version
Let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and didn't repent: and let him hear a cry in the morning, and shouting at noontime;
King James Version
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
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 American Standard Bible
But may that man be like the cities Which the LORD overthrew without relenting, And may he hear an outcry in the morning And an alarm for war at noon;
New Century Version
Let that man be like the towns the Lord destroyed without pity. Let him hear loud crying in the morning and battle cries at noon,
Amplified Bible
And let that man be like the cities Which the LORD overthrew without regret. Let him hear an outcry in the morning And a shout of alarm at noon;
World English Bible
Let that man be as the cities which Yahweh overthrew, and didn't repent: and let him hear a cry in the morning, and shouting at noontime;
Geneva Bible (1587)
And let that man be as the cities, which the Lord hath ouerturned and repented not: and let him heare the cry in the morning, and the showting at noone tide,
Legacy Standard Bible
But let that man be like the citiesWhich Yahweh overthrew without relenting,And let him hear an outcry in the morningAnd a shout of war at noon,
Berean Standard Bible
May that man be like the cities the LORD overthrew without compassion. May he hear an outcry in the morning and a battle cry at noon,
Contemporary English Version
May that man be like the towns you destroyed without pity. Let him hear shouts of alarm in the morning and battle cries at noon.
Complete Jewish Bible
Let that man be like the cities Adonai overthrew without mercy! Let him hear cries of alarm in the morning and the sound of battle at noon,
Darby Translation
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,
Easy-to-Read Version
Let that man be like the cities the Lord destroyed. He had no pity on them. Let him hear shouts of war in the morning; let him hear battle cries at noontime,
George Lamsa Translation
Let that man be like the cities which the LORD overthrew, and he was never reconciled towards them; and let him hear the cry in the morning and the howling at noon.
Good News Translation
May he be like those cities that the Lord destroyed without mercy. May he hear cries of pain in the morning and the battle alarm at noon,
Lexham English Bible
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.
Literal Translation
And let that man be as the cities which Jehovah overthrew and did not repent. And let him hear a cry in the morning and the shouting at noontime;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Let it happen vnto that man, as to the cities which ye LORDE turned vpside downe (when he had longe herde the wicked rumoure of them)
American Standard Version
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;
Bible in Basic English
May that man be like the towns overturned by the Lord without mercy: let a cry for help come to his ears in the morning, and the sound of war in the middle of the day;
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not; and let him hear a cry in the morning, and an alarm at noontide;
King James Version (1611)
And let that man be as the cities which the Lord ouerthrew and repented not: and let him heare the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noonetide,
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Let it happen vnto that man, as to the cities whiche the Lorde turned vpsidedowne and repented not: Let hym heare crying in the morning, and at noone day lamentable howling.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Let that man rejoice as the cities which the Lord overthrew in wrath, and repented not: let him hear crying in the morning, and loud lamentation at noon;
English Revised Version
And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear a cry in the morning, and shouting at noontide;
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thilke man be as the citees ben, whiche the Lord distriede, and it repentide not hym;
Update Bible Version
And let that man be as the cities which Yahweh overthrew, and didn't repent: and let him hear a cry in the morning, and shouting at noontime;
Webster's Bible Translation
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 noon;
New English Translation
May that man be like the cities that the Lord destroyed without showing any mercy. May he hear a cry of distress in the morning and a battle cry at noon.
New King James Version
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 Life Bible
Let that man be like the cities which the Lord destroyed without pity. Let him hear a cry in the morning and a call of danger at noon.
New Revised Standard
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,
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Making him very glad: Yea let that man be - as the cities which Yahweh overthrew and repented not, - And let him hear An outcry in the morning, and A war-shout at broad noon!
Douay-Rheims Bible
Let that man be as the cities which the Lord hath overthrown, and hath not repented: let him hear a cry in the morning, and howling at noontide:
Revised Standard Version
Let that man be like the cities which the LORD overthrew without pity; let him hear a cry in the morning and an alarm at noon,
Young's Literal Translation
Then hath that man been as the cities, That Jehovah overthrew, and repented not, And he hath heard a cry at morning, And a shout at time of noon.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
But let that man be like the cities Which the LORD overthrew without relenting, And let him hear an outcry in the morning And a shout of alarm at noon;

Contextual Overview

14 Yet I curse the day I was born! May no one celebrate the day of my birth. 15 I curse the messenger who told my father, "Good news—you have a son!" 16 Let him be destroyed like the cities of old that the Lord overthrew without mercy. Terrify him all day long with battle shouts, 17 because he did not kill me at birth. Oh, that I had died in my mother's womb, that her body had been my grave! 18 Why was I ever born? My entire life has been filled with trouble, sorrow, and shame.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

as: Genesis 19:24, Genesis 19:25, Deuteronomy 29:23, Hosea 11:8, Amos 4:11, Zephaniah 2:9, Luke 17:29, 2 Peter 2:6, Jude 1:7

repented: Jeremiah 18:8, Jeremiah 26:13, Jonah 3:4, Jonah 3:9, Jonah 3:10, Jonah 4:2

let him: Jeremiah 4:19, Jeremiah 18:22, Jeremiah 48:3, Jeremiah 48:4, Ezekiel 21:22, Hosea 10:14, Amos 1:14, Amos 2:2, Zephaniah 1:16

Reciprocal: Ezekiel 16:50 - therefore Ezekiel 16:53 - bring Zechariah 8:14 - I repented

Cross-References

Genesis 20:3
But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, "You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!"
Genesis 20:5
Didn't Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister'? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he is my brother.' I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean."
Genesis 20:6
In the dream God responded, "Yes, I know you are innocent. That's why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her.
Genesis 20:8
Abimelech got up early the next morning and quickly called all his servants together. When he told them what had happened, his men were terrified.
Genesis 20:9
Then Abimelech called for Abraham. "What have you done to us?" he demanded. "What crime have I committed that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? No one should ever do what you have done!
Genesis 24:65
"Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?" she asked the servant. And he replied, "It is my master." So Rebekah covered her face with her veil.
Genesis 26:11
Then Abimelech issued a public proclamation: "Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death!"
Proverbs 12:1
To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.
Proverbs 25:12
To one who listens, valid criticism is like a gold earring or other gold jewelry.
Proverbs 27:5
An open rebuke is better than hidden love!

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And let that man be as the cities which the Lord overthrew,.... 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.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 strength, warning prince and people with unwavering constancy of the national ruin that would follow necessarily upon their sins. Before God he stood crushed by the thought that he had labored in vain, and spent his strength for nothing.

It is important to notice that with this outpouring of sorrow Jeremiah’s ministry virtually closed. Though he appeared again at Jerusalem toward the end of Jehoiakim’s reign, yet it was no longer to say that by repentance the national ruin might be averted. During the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the die was cast, and all the prophet henceforward could do, was to alleviate a punishment that was inevitable.

Jeremiah 20:7

Thou hast deceived me ... - What Jeremiah refers to is the joy with which he had accepted the prophetic office Jeremiah 15:16, occasioned perhaps by taking the promises in Jeremiah 1:18 too literally as a pledge that he would succeed.

Thou art stronger than I - Rather, “Thou hast taken hold of me.” God had taken Jeremiah in so firm a grasp that he could not escape from the necessity of prophesying. He would have resisted, but the hand of God prevailed.

I am in derision daily - literally, “I am become a laughing-stock all the day, i. e., peripetually.

Jeremiah 20:8

Translate,” For as often as I speak, I must complain; I call out, Violence and spoil.”

From the time Jeremiah began to prophesy, he had had reason for nothing but lamentation. Daily with louder voice and more desperate energy he must call out “violence and spoil;” as a perpetual protest against the manner in which the laws of justice were violated by powerful men among the people.

Jeremiah 20:9

Seeing that his mission was useless, Jeremiah determined to withdraw from it.

I could not stay - Rather, “I prevailed not,” did not succeed. See Jeremiah 20:7.

Jeremiah 20:10

The defaming - Rather, “the talking.” The word refers to people whispering in twos and threes apart; in this case plotting against Jeremiah. Compare Mark 14:58.

Report ... - Rather, “Do you report, and we will report him: i. e., they encourage one another to give information against Jeremiah.

My familiars - literally, “the men of my peace” Psalms 41:9. In the East the usual salutation is “Peace be to thee:” and the answer, “And to thee peace.” Thus, the phrase rather means acquaintances, than familiar friends.

Enticed - literally, “persuaded, misled,” the same word as “deceived Jeremiah 20:7.” Compare Mark 12:13-17.

Jeremiah 20:11

A mighty terrible one - Rather, “a terrible warrior.” The mighty One Isaiah 9:6 who is on his side is a terror to them. This change of feeling was the effect of faith, enabling him to be content with calmly doing his duty, and leaving the result to God.

For ... - Rather, “because they have not acted wisely (Jeremiah 10:21 note), with an everlasting disgrace that shall never be forgotten.”

Jeremiah 20:12

This verse is repeated almost verbatim from Jeremiah 11:20.

Jeremiah 20:13

Sing - Jeremiah’s outward circumstances remained the same, but he found peace in leaving his cause in faith to God.

Jeremiah 20:14

This sudden outbreak of impatience after the happy faith of Jeremiah 20:13 has led to much discussion. Possibly there was more of sorrow in the words than of impatience; sorrow that the earnest labor of a life had been in vain. Yet the form of the expression is fierce and indignant; and the impatience of Jeremiah is that part of his character which is most open to blame. He does not reach that elevation which is set before us by Him who is the perfect pattern of all righteousness. Our Lord was a prophet whose mission to the men of His generation equally failed, and His sorrow was even more deep; but it never broke forth in imprecations. See Luke 19:41-42.

Jeremiah 20:16

The cry - is the sound of the lamentation Jeremiah 20:8; “the shouting” is the alarm of war.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 20:16. And let him hear the cry — Let him be in continual alarms.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile