דָּמָה

And then I will do to you what I had planned to do to them.”

And during the night, the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house. They intended to kill me, but they abused my concubine, and she died.

And they answered the king, “As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us to exterminate us from existing within any border of Israel,

…he sent back to her this reply: “Do not imagine that because you are in the king’s palace you alone will escape the fate of all the Jews.

Within Your temple, O God, we contemplate Your loving devotion.

You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face.

For who in the skies can compare with the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD?

I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.

Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

I compare you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.

My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look, he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice.

Before the day breaks and shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.

Your stature is like a palm tree; your breasts are clusters of fruit.

Come away, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.

Unless the LORD of Hosts had left us a few survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.

But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.

I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

The LORD of Hosts has sworn: “Surely, as I have planned, so will it be; as I have purposed, so will it stand.

To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him?

“To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.

To whom will you liken Me or count Me equal? To whom will you compare Me, that we should be alike?

Though she is beautiful and delicate, I will destroy the Daughter of Zion.

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 console you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can ever heal you?

“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: ‘Who can be compared to your greatness?

The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it; the cypresses could not compare with its branches, nor the plane trees match its boughs. No tree in the garden of God could compare with its beauty.

Who then is like you in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? You also will be brought down to the depths of the earth to be with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.’”

“Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: ‘You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas. You thrash about in your rivers, churning up the waters with your feet and muddying the streams.’

I spoke through the prophets and multiplied their visions; I gave parables through the prophets.