ירמיהו, פרק כ׳, פסוק י״ד

From a deep abyss of despair, a profound cry emerges against the very fact of existence. Even when spared from the plots of enemies and physical imprisonment, the prophet's life is defined by intense suffering. Delivering the word of God brings him no joy; instead, it is experienced as a painful necessity. The public treats him with hostility, viewing him as a strange outcast. Overwhelmed by this heavy burden, he reacts as other righteous individuals, such as Job, have done in times of extreme distress. He curses the very dawn of his life, a natural response for those whose fate has become unbearably bitter [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

This rejection of life targets two distinct stages of his origin: the moment of conception, associated with his father, and the actual day of birth, associated with his mother [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. Rather than an active curse cast in the heat of the moment, this can be understood as a statement of historical fact, recognizing that these days were fundamentally tragic from the start [מלבי״ם]. The time of conception occurred during a dark era when King Manasseh was slaughtering the prophets of God. The prophet's father, Hilkiah, was forced to conceive his child under duress and in a hurried panic during the day, immediately fleeing for his life [רש״י, מלבי״ם, חומת אנך]. Furthermore, the actual day of birth fell on the Ninth of Av, a date destined for national disaster and the destruction of the Temple. Because of this built-in tragedy, the day inherently lacks any blessing for the future [מלבי״ם].

Alternatively, focusing on both conception and birth is seen not as a reference to specific historical events, but as a stylistic repetition meant to amplify the prophet's deep sadness. Under this approach, the curse is simply a raw, emotional outburst from a broken spirit. It is an expression of ultimate bitterness, even though practically speaking, there is no real meaning in cursing a day that has already passed into history [רד״ק].