Thomas Aquinas Commentary Lamentations 2:13

"What shall I testify unto thee? what shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I compare 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 (ASV)

The author now presents what followed the destruction, specifically, the things that usually happen after the work is complete.

1. He excludes the healing of the wound.
2. He presents the astonishment of the spectators: all they that passed by the way have clapped their hands at you (Lamentations 2:15).
3. He shows the approval of the judge who brought such a vengeance: the Lord has done that which he purposed (Lamentations 2:17).

Regarding the first point, he does two things:

1. He shows the wound is incurable.
2. He assigns the cause: your prophets have seen false and foolish things for you (Lamentations 2:14).

Regarding the first of these points—the incurable wound—he again does two things:

1. He shows that the wound cannot be soothed by consolations drawn from comparing it to the suffering of others, which is a common comfort for the afflicted: to what shall I compare you? A true similarity is more than a simple comparison. Things can be compared as long as they are of the same nature and the difference between them is not infinite, but they are not truly similar just because they share a quality or possess things equally. Instead, things are only truly similar when one does not surpass the other in that shared quality. Jerusalem’s wounds, however, exceed those of other nations because she has lost a temporal and spiritual glory that others never possessed. Therefore, there is no one to compare her to, as the text says, That I may comfort you. This is as if to say, “Others have not suffered anything like or worse than you,” as it is written elsewhere, You have brought a day of consolation, and they shall be like unto me (Lamentations 1:21).
2. He shows that this wound cannot be healed by any remedy because of its immense size: great as the sea, which is vast and restless. As Jeremiah says, Your wound is incurable (Jeremiah 30:12).