ירמיהו, פרק כ׳, פסוק ט״ז

In a state of deep anguish, Jeremiah directs harsh and bitter curses at the messenger who originally informed his father of his birth, wishing upon him a fate of absolute ruin. The primary approach among commentators is that the prophet condemns this man to suffer the same catastrophic destruction as Sodom, Gomorrah, and their neighboring cities, which serve as the ultimate symbol of total devastation [רש"י, מצודת דוד, שטיינזלץ]. Just as God decreed the ruin of those cities and did not reverse His decision or experience any regret, Jeremiah prays that this man's doom will be equally final and inescapable [רש"י, מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון, שטיינזלץ].

The curse extends into a continuous sequence of escalating daily suffering. The messenger is condemned to wake up to the sounds of distress and disaster coming from his relatives and loved ones right at the start of the day [מצודת דוד, רד"ק, שטיינזלץ]. By midday, this suffering amplifies into loud wailing, mourning, and the chaotic noise of harsh events and war [מצודת ציון, רד"ק, שטיינזלץ]. [רד"ק] points out the deliberate progression in this timeline: just as the sun grows stronger from morning to noon, the man's agony steadily intensifies. The midday wails are far harsher and louder than the morning cries.

Offering a specific historical perspective, [מלבי"ם] suggests that this curse was not merely a wish, but an event that actually took place. According to this view, the messenger and all his property were wiped out by King Manasseh. Because the king wanted to eliminate the lineage of God's prophets, he punished the messenger for failing to kill Jeremiah in the womb or report the pregnancy to force a miscarriage. In this context, the progression of the day reflects the actual stages of the man's death. The morning cries occurred when he was taken to prison and judged, while the midday noise was the blast of a horn officially announcing his execution [מלבי"ם].