Jeremiah 20:16

“And let that man be as the cities which the Lord overthrew, etc.] 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.”

“the cities--Sodom and Gomorrah. cry . . . morning . . . noontide--that is, Let him be kept in alarm the whole day (not merely at night when terrors ordinarily prevail, but in daytime when it is something extraordinary) with terrifying war shouts, as those in a besieged city (Jer 18:22).”

“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…”

“The cities - Sodom and Gomorrah; by the cry in the morning and shouting at noon, he means the shouts and noises that enemies make when they break in upon a place. Next: Jeremiah Chapter 21”

“20:16 The cities of old were probably Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:24-29).”

“as: Gen 19:24, Gen 19:25; Deu 29:23; Hos 11:8; Amo 4:11; Zep 2:9; Luk 17:29; Pe2 2:6; Jde 1:7 repented: Jer 18:8, Jer 26:13; Jon 3:4, Jon 3:9, Jon 3:10, Jon 4:2 let him: Jer 4:19, Jer 18:22, Jer 48:3, Jer 48:4; Eze 21:22; Hos 10:14; Amo 1:14, Amo 2:2; Zep 1:16 Jeremiah 20:17”