Lamentations 2:13
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?
Original Language Analysis
מָ֤ה
for thee what thing
H4100
מָ֤ה
for thee what thing
Strong's:
H4100
Word #:
1 of 21
properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?); but also exclamation, what! (including how!), or indefinitely what (including whatever, and
אֲעִידֵ֞ךְ
What thing shall I take to witness
H5749
אֲעִידֵ֞ךְ
What thing shall I take to witness
Strong's:
H5749
Word #:
2 of 21
to duplicate or repeat; by implication, to protest, testify (as by reiteration); intensively, to encompass, restore (as a sort of reduplication)
מָ֤ה
for thee what thing
H4100
מָ֤ה
for thee what thing
Strong's:
H4100
Word #:
3 of 21
properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?); but also exclamation, what! (including how!), or indefinitely what (including whatever, and
אֲדַמֶּה
shall I liken
H1819
אֲדַמֶּה
shall I liken
Strong's:
H1819
Word #:
4 of 21
to compare; by implication, to resemble, liken, consider
בַּת
daughter
H1323
בַּת
daughter
Strong's:
H1323
Word #:
6 of 21
a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively)
יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם
of Jerusalem
H3389
יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם
of Jerusalem
Strong's:
H3389
Word #:
7 of 21
jerushalaim or jerushalem, the capital city of palestine
מָ֤ה
for thee what thing
H4100
מָ֤ה
for thee what thing
Strong's:
H4100
Word #:
8 of 21
properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?); but also exclamation, what! (including how!), or indefinitely what (including whatever, and
אַשְׁוֶה
what shall I equal
H7737
אַשְׁוֶה
what shall I equal
Strong's:
H7737
Word #:
9 of 21
properly, to level, i.e., equalize; figuratively, to resemble; by implication, to adjust (i.e., counterbalance, be suitable, compose, place, yield, et
וַאֲנַֽחֲמֵ֔ךְ
to thee that I may comfort
H5162
וַאֲנַֽחֲמֵ֔ךְ
to thee that I may comfort
Strong's:
H5162
Word #:
11 of 21
properly, to sigh, i.e., breathe strongly; by implication, to be sorry, i.e., (in a favorable sense) to pity, console or (reflexively) rue; or (unfavo
בְּתוּלַ֖ת
thee O virgin
H1330
בְּתוּלַ֖ת
thee O virgin
Strong's:
H1330
Word #:
12 of 21
a virgin (from her privacy); sometimes (by continuation) a bride; also (figuratively) a city or state
בַּת
daughter
H1323
בַּת
daughter
Strong's:
H1323
Word #:
13 of 21
a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively)
צִיּ֑וֹן
of Zion
H6726
צִיּ֑וֹן
of Zion
Strong's:
H6726
Word #:
14 of 21
tsijon (as a permanent capital), a mountain of jerusalem
כִּֽי
H3588
כִּֽי
Strong's:
H3588
Word #:
15 of 21
(by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
כַּיָּ֛ם
like the sea
H3220
כַּיָּ֛ם
like the sea
Strong's:
H3220
Word #:
17 of 21
a sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of water; specifically (with the article), the mediterranean sea; sometimes a large river, or an artif
שִׁבְרֵ֖ךְ
for thy breach
H7667
שִׁבְרֵ֖ךְ
for thy breach
Strong's:
H7667
Word #:
18 of 21
a fracture, figuratively, ruin; specifically, a solution (of a dream)
מִ֥י
H4310
מִ֥י
Strong's:
H4310
Word #:
19 of 21
who? (occasionally, by a peculiar idiom, of things); also (indefinitely) whoever; often used in oblique construction with prefix or suffix
Cross References
Lamentations 1:12Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.Jeremiah 8:22Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?Jeremiah 14:17Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.2 Samuel 5:20And David came to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there, and said, The LORD hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baal-perazim.
Historical Context
Part of the chapter 2 acrostic (verse 13 begins with the letter mem). The 'virgin daughter of Zion' refers to Jerusalem's former status as unviolated by foreign conquest since David's time (400+ years prior). The Babylonian destruction was the first successful breach of Jerusalem's walls since the Jebusite era.
Questions for Reflection
- When your spiritual condition seems beyond human remedy, do you despair or recognize that impossibility with man is the prerequisite for God's healing work?
- How does the rhetorical 'who can heal?' point forward to Christ as the only Physician capable of healing sin's ultimate breach?
Analysis & Commentary
What thing shall I take to witness for thee? (מָה אֲעִידֵךְ, mah a'idekh)—The prophet searches for historical precedent or comparison to comfort Jerusalem but finds none. Thy breach is great like the sea (כִּי־גָדוֹל כַּיָּם שִׁבְרֵךְ, ki-gadol kayam shivrekh)—'breach' (shever) means a fracture beyond repair. The sea metaphor suggests immeasurable, unfathomable devastation. Who can heal thee? (מִי יִרְפָּא־לָךְ, mi yirpa-lakh) is rhetorical, implying human impossibility. Yet the question anticipates divine possibility—only God who wounded can heal (Deuteronomy 32:39; Hosea 6:1).