Lamentations 2 13

Lamentations 2:13 kjv

What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee?

Lamentations 2:13 nkjv

How shall I console you? To what shall I liken you, O daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I compare with you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your ruin is spread wide as the sea; Who can heal you?

Lamentations 2:13 niv

What can I say for you? With what can I compare you, Daughter Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may comfort you, Virgin Daughter Zion? Your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can heal you?

Lamentations 2:13 esv

What can I say for you, to what compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem? What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your ruin is vast as the sea; who can heal you?

Lamentations 2:13 nlt

What can I say about you?
Who has ever seen such sorrow?
O daughter of Jerusalem,
to what can I compare your anguish?
O virgin daughter of Zion,
how can I comfort you?
For your wound is as deep as the sea.
Who can heal you?

Lamentations 2 verses

Lamentations 2 13 meaning

Lamentations 2:13 is a lament from the prophet Jeremiah, grappling with the unparalleled devastation of Jerusalem. He expresses profound despair and an utter inability to find any comparable historical tragedy, any words, or any source of comfort for the "Daughter of Jerusalem," personified as a despoiled virgin. The verse concludes by declaring that her ruin is immeasurable, as vast and overwhelming as the sea, leading to a rhetorical question that emphasizes the impossibility of human healing or recovery from such a catastrophic judgment.

Lamentations 2 13 Context

Lamentations 2 describes the full fury of God's judgment on Jerusalem and its people, meticulously cataloging the suffering, the loss of joy, and the utter desolation caused by the Babylonian invasion and the Lord's wrath. Unlike chapter 1, which details the desolation from the perspective of personified Jerusalem, chapter 2 focuses on God's active role in bringing about this destruction. Verse 13 comes amidst intense sorrow and vivid imagery of ruin. The prophet, deeply empathetic, is struggling to find a way to express the profound sorrow or offer consolation. He attempts to find a parallel or a measure for Jerusalem's immense suffering, only to conclude that her wound is uniquely vast and beyond any human capacity for repair. This verse captures the moment of the lamenter's deepest perplexity and despair, a cry of utter helplessness in the face of divinely ordained calamity.

Lamentations 2 13 Word analysis

• מָה־אֲהַשֶּׁב לָךְ (mah-ʾahaššeb lakh) - "What can I devise/say for you?"

  • מָה (mah): Interrogative pronoun "what," indicating a profound question of inability or impossibility.
  • אֲהַשֶּׁב (ʾahaššeb): From חָשַׁב (hashav), meaning "to think, devise, calculate." Here, in the Hiphil, it implies "to figure out, find, say, come up with." The speaker is struggling to find suitable words or an appropriate comparison.

• מָה־אֲדַמֶּה־לָּךְ (mah-ʾadammeh-llakh) - "To what can I compare/liken you?"

  • אֲדַמֶּה (ʾadammeh): From דָּמָה (damah), meaning "to be like, resemble." In the Piel, it carries an intensive meaning, emphasizing the attempt to draw a profound likeness or comparison, underscoring the speaker's failed quest for an adequate parallel to Jerusalem's suffering.

• בַּת־יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם (bat-yərušālam) - "O daughter of Jerusalem"

  • בַּת (bat): "Daughter." A common personification in biblical literature, referring to a city's inhabitants or the city itself, often depicting vulnerability and intimate connection. Here, it evokes an image of Jerusalem as a familiar, beloved, yet now broken, female figure.

• מָה־אַדְוֶה לָךְ (mah-ʾadweh lakh) - "To what can I liken you, (so that) I may comfort you?" or "How can I console you?"

  • אַדְוֶה (ʾadweh): From אָדָה (ʾadah), which is less common. Its precise meaning here is debated, with translations varying from "liken/testify against/console." It seems to refer to finding a true or adequate measure or representation of her state in order to bring comfort, highlighting the impossibility.

• וַאֲנַחֲמֵךְ (waʾanaḥamekh) - "and I may comfort/console you"

  • וַאֲנַחֲמֵךְ (waʾanaḥamekh): From נָחַם (naḥam), meaning "to be sorry, comfort, console." In the Piel, it denotes an intense act of comforting. This is the goal of the rhetorical search, but it remains unattainable by human means.

• בְּתוּלַת בַּת־צִיּוֹן (bətulat bat-ṣiyyôn) - "O virgin daughter of Zion"

  • בְּתוּלַת (bətulat): "Virgin." This epithet intensifies the imagery. A virgin city implies innocence, purity, untouchedness, and also immense vulnerability when unprotected. The destruction of a "virgin daughter" underscores the heinous nature and utter violation of the calamity.
  • בַּת־צִיּוֹן (bat-ṣiyyôn): "Daughter of Zion." Zion is often used synonymously with Jerusalem, especially referring to its sacred and royal aspects (Mount Zion, Temple Mount). This term elevates the loss beyond merely a city to a holy, pristine entity, now defiled and ruined.

• כִּי גָדוֹל כַּיָּם שִׁבְרֵךְ (kî gadôl kayyām šivrēkh) - "For your ruin is vast as the sea"

  • כִּי (kî): "For," introduces the reason or explanation for the preceding rhetorical questions.
  • גָדוֹל (gadôl): "Great, vast, immense."
  • כַּיָּם (kayyām): "As the sea." The sea in the ancient Near East was a symbol of overwhelming, uncontrollable, and often chaotic power. Here, it metaphorically describes the boundless and inescapable magnitude of Jerusalem's destruction and sorrow.
  • שִׁבְרֵךְ (šivrēkh): "Your breaking, your ruin, your wound." From שָׁבַר (shavar), "to break, crush." It denotes complete and utter devastation, implying something irreparably shattered.

• מִי יִרְפָּא לָךְ (mî yirpā lach) - "who can heal you?"

  • מִי (mî): Interrogative pronoun "who," setting up a rhetorical question.
  • יִרְפָּא (yirpā): From רָפָא (rapha), "to heal, mend." The rhetorical question emphatically asserts that no human physician, no earthly power, and no conventional means can possibly repair such profound and widespread devastation. It points to a unique, divinely inflicted, and only divinely reversible wound.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "What can I say for you? To what can I compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion?": These successive rhetorical questions powerfully convey the speaker's emotional and intellectual bankruptcy. They highlight the unparalleled nature of Jerusalem's suffering, underscoring that no earthly analogy or comfort mechanism can adequately address such a profound calamity. The shift from "daughter of Jerusalem" to "virgin daughter of Zion" signifies an escalating scale of pathos, moving from general identity to sacred vulnerability.

• "For your ruin is vast as the sea; who can heal you?": This statement provides the tragic answer to the preceding questions. The sea imagery conveys a sense of overwhelming, boundless, and destructive power, making the ruin seem infinite and inescapable. The concluding rhetorical question "who can heal you?" leaves the hearer with an unanswerable dilemma, implying that the wound is terminal by human standards, directing attention either to absolute despair or to the hidden hope that only God could perform such a healing.

Lamentations 2 13 Bonus section

The triple repetition of rhetorical questions (What can I say? To what can I compare? To what can I liken?) functions as a literary device known as anaphora, amplifying the emotional weight and desperation of the speaker. It creates a rhythm of agonizing thought, a mind frantically searching for understanding or consolation, only to find an intellectual and emotional dead end. The phrase "virgin daughter of Zion" also has significant theological weight. It does not necessarily imply physical virginity but rather symbolizes Jerusalem's status as inviolable, chosen by God, and metaphorically married to Him. Its violation thus represents an even greater betrayal and a deeper wound than a non-virgin city's destruction, as it attacks the very covenant relationship and unique identity granted by God. The use of "sea" imagery connects to broader biblical motifs where the sea represents chaos, overwhelming power, or the nations that God subdues, indicating that Jerusalem has been cast into an abyss of chaos.

Lamentations 2 13 Commentary

Lamentations 2:13 is a pivotal expression of the prophet's deepest agony over Jerusalem's destruction. The triple rhetorical question emphasizes a profound sense of utter helplessness and the unprecedented nature of the catastrophe. Jeremiah seeks a metaphor, an analogy, or simply a way to articulate the boundless grief, but he finds none sufficient. The imagery of Jerusalem as a "virgin daughter of Zion" intensifies the horror; what was pure, protected, and holy has been violently desecrated and irrevocably broken. The comparison of her "ruin" (שִׁבְרֵךְ) to the "vastness of the sea" speaks to an immense, uncontrollable, and all-consuming destruction, suggesting a scale of suffering that transcends ordinary human experience. The rhetorical question, "who can heal you?", then serves as a devastating punchline. It is a declaration of human powerlessness and a recognition that the judgment is so severe and the wounds so deep that no mortal remedy can suffice. This points towards the conclusion that only a divine intervention could possibly mend such a catastrophic breach, implicitly setting the stage for the limited hope that emerges later in Lamentations. The verse communicates not only sorrow but also an awareness of the unique horror and divine gravity of Jerusalem's suffering.