Syria in the Bible

Exact Match

And the servant shall take ten camels from the camels of his lord, and will go, and all the goods of his lord in his hand; and he will rise and go to Syria of the rivers to the city of Nahor.

and it came to pass that, Isaac, was forty years old, when he took Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Syrian, of the Plain of Syria, - sister of Laban the Syrian. to himself to wife.

Your territory will extend from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north. It will extend all the way to the great River Euphrates in the east (including all of Syria) and all the way to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.

And the Spirit of Yahweh came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war, and Yahweh delivered into his hand, Chushan-rishathaim, king of Syria, - and his hand prevailed over Chushan-rishathaim.

And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.

Then came the Syrians of Damascus to succor Hadadezer king of Zobah. And David slew of them two and twenty thousand men and put soldiers in Syria, Damascus.

Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.

Of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the LORD shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD.

And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.

And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.

Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,

And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:

And Benhadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it.

And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen.

Then the king of Israel marched out and struck down the horses and chariots; he thoroughly defeated Syria.

And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.

And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

And they pitched over against one another seven days. And it happened in the seventh day, and the battle came up. And the sons of Israel struck Syria, a hundred thousand footmen in one day.

And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria?

Zedekiah son of Kenaanah made iron horns and said, "This is what the Lord says, 'With these you will gore Syria until they are destroyed.'"

But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel.

Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.

Raiding parties went out from Syria and took captive from the land of Israel a young girl, who became a servant to Naaman's wife.

And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.

But the prophet sent this message to the king of Israel, "Make sure you don't pass through this place because Syria is invading there."

Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?

And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.

And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.

And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.

So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.

And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramothgilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.

And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramothgilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria.

But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your minds, then let none go forth nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel.

Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.

And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem.

And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, all their days.

And Jehoahaz besought the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them.

So Yahweh gave unto Israel a saviour, and they went forth from under the hand of Syria, - and the sons of Israel dwelt in their own homes, as aforetime.

Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing.

And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD'S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.

And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.

But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.

So Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son reigned in his stead.

In those days the LORD began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah.

Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.

At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day.

So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.

Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad [of northern Syria], the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”

And the LORD sent upon him men of war out of Chaldea, out of Syria, out of the Moabites, and from the children of Ammon: and sent them into Judah to destroy it, according to the saying of the LORD which he spake by his servants the Prophets.

Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought tribute. And Jehovah gave victory to David whithersoever he went.

And when the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Syria-maachah, and out of Zobah.

And the servants of Hadarezer saw that they were beaten before Israel, and they made peace with David and became his servants. And Syria was not willing to help the sons of Ammon any more.

And they fetched up, and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so brought they out horses for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, by their means.

Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king's house, and sent to Benhadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,

And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.

And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith the LORD, With these thou shalt push Syria until they be consumed.

Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots that were with him, saying, Fight ye not with small or great, save only with the king of Israel.

Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.

He walked also after their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramothgilead: and the Syrians smote Joram.

And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds which were given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he was sick.

And it came to pass at the end of the year, that the host of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus.

Although, with a comparatively few men, came the force of Syria, yet, Yahweh, delivered into their hand an exceeding large force, - because they had forsaken Yahweh, the God of their fathers, - and, upon Joash, executed they judgments.

Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.

For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel.

{To the chanter, upon the rose of witness, Michtam of David, for to teach: when he fought against Mesopotamia, and Syria of Zoba: and when Joab turned back, and slew twelve thousand Edomites in the valley of Salt} O God, thou hast cast us out and scattered us abroad; thou that hast been so sore displeased at us, comfort us again.

And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.

And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.

And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,

For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.

Syria from the east, and the Philistines from the west, they gobbled up Israelite territory. Despite all this, his anger does not subside, and his hand is ready to strike again.

The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Damascus [capital of Aram (Syria), and Israel’s defense against Assyria].

“Listen carefully, Damascus will cease to be a city
And will become a fallen ruin.

The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts.

Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad [of northern Syria], the king of the city of Sepharvaim, [the king of] Hena, or [the king of] Ivvah?’”

And it came to pass when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come and let us go into Jerusalem because of the army of the Chaldeans, and because of the army of Syria; and we dwell at Jerusalem.


Concerning Damascus [in Syria].
“Hamath and Arpad are perplexed and shamed,
For they have heard bad news;
They are disheartened;
Troubled and anxious like a [storm-tossed] sea
Which cannot be calmed.

Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about.

Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate.

Damascus traded with you because of the abundance of your handiworks and the immense wealth of every kind, with the wine of Helbon [Aleppo] and the white wool [of Sachar in Syria].

Then the king of the North (Syria) will come and build up siege ramps and capture a well-fortified city. The forces of the South will not stand their ground, not even the finest troops, for there will be no strength to stand [against the Syrian king].

But he (Syria) who comes against him (Egypt) will do exactly as he pleases, and no one will be able to stand against him; he (Antiochus III the Great) will also stay for a time in the Beautiful and Glorious Land [of Israel], with destruction in his hand.

Then he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land [of Syria], but he will stumble and fall and not be found.

And in his place [in Syria] will arise a despicable and despised person, to whom royal majesty and the honor of kingship have not been conferred, but he will come [without warning] in a time of tranquility and seize the kingdom by intrigue.

Then he (Antiochus IV Epiphanes) will return to his land with great treasure (plunder); and his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and return to his own land (Syria).

And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.

I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD.

The oracle (a burdensome message) of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach [in Syria], with Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of men, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord),

Now the woman happened to be a Greek, born in Phoenicia in Syria. She kept asking him to drive the demon out of her daughter.

And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and yet none of them was healed, saving Naaman of Syria."

And Jesus said to them, "The kings of the [unconverted] Gentiles lord it over their own people, and those who domineer over them are called 'Benefactors' [Note: This was a title used by Greek kings in Egypt and Syria].

And the news about [what was being done by] these people reached the church in Jerusalem, so that they sent Barnabas to Antioch [in Syria].

And from there they sailed to Antioch [in Syria], from where they had [originally] been committed to God's favor for [carrying out] the work which they had just completed.

Thematic Bible



And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.


The king of Aram was fighting with Israel, so he consulted with his officers, saying, "My camp is {at such and such a place}." Then the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, "Take care while crossing over to this place, because [the] Arameans [are] descending there." So the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God said to him and warned him, so he was on guard there {continually}. read more.
Then the heart of the king of Aram was stormy because of this matter, so he called his servants and said to them, "Can you not tell me {who among us sides with the king of Israel}?" Then one of his servants said, "No, my lord the king, but Elisha the prophet who is [in] Israel tells the king of Israel things which you speak {in your own bedchamber}." Then he said, "Go and see where he [is] so that I can send and capture him." Then he was told to him, "Look, [he is] in Dothan." So he sent horses, chariots, and an oppressing army there. They arrived at night and surrounded the town. The attendant of the man of God arose early and went out, and look, the army [was] surrounding the city with horses and chariots. His servant said to him, "Oh no, my master! What shall we do?" And he said, "Don't be afraid, for more [are] with us than are with them." Then Elisha prayed and said, "O Yahweh, please open his eyes that he may see," and Yahweh opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw, and look, the mountain [was] full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. They came down to him, and Elisha prayed to Yahweh and said, "Please strike this people with blindness," so he struck them with blindness as {Elisha had spoken}. Then Elisha said to them, "This [is] not the way and this [is] not the city. Come after me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek." Then he brought them to Samaria. It happened at the moment they came to Samaria, Elisha said, "O Yahweh, open the eyes of these that they may see," so Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw, and look, the middle of Samaria! Then the king of Israel said to Elisha when he saw them, "Shall I kill them? Shall I kill, my father?" And he said, "You shall not kill. Would you kill [those] whom you took captive with the sword or with the bow? Put food and water before them that they may eat and drink and then go to their master." So he made a great feast for them, and they ate and drank; then he sent them, and they went to their master. And the bands of the Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.


Now [when] Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up with one purpose against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, saying, "This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law!" But [when] Paul was about to open [his] mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, "If it was some crime or wicked villainy, O Jews, {I would have been justified in accepting} your complaint. read more.
But if it is questions concerning a word and names and {your own law}, see to [it] yourselves! I do not wish to be a judge of these [things]." And he drove them away from the judgment seat. So they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, [and] began beating [him] in front of the judgment seat. And none of these [things] was a concern to Gallio. So Paul, [after] remaining many days longer, said farewell to the brothers [and] sailed away to Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved [his] head at Cenchrea, because he had [taken] a vow.


For, look, I [am] calling to all [the] clans of [the] kingdoms of [the] north," {declares} Yahweh, "and they will come and set each one his throne [at] the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its surrounding walls, and against all the cities of Judah.

An oracle. The word of Yahweh [is] against the land of Hadrach, and Damascus [is] its resting place. For to Yahweh belongs the eye of humankind, and all the tribes of Israel,

For the head of Aram [is] Damascus, and the head of Damascus [is] Rezin, and in sixty-five years from now Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. And the head of Ephraim [is] Samaria, and the head of Samaria [is] the son of Remaliah. If you do not believe then you will not endure." '" And Yahweh continued to speak to Ahaz, saying, read more.
"Ask for a sign for yourself from Yahweh God; make [it] deep [as] Sheol or make [it] high as above." But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put Yahweh to the test." Then he said, "Hear, house of David! [Is it] too little for you to make men weary, that you should also make my God weary? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look! the virgin [is] with child and she is about to give birth [to] a son, and she shall call his name 'God with us.' He shall eat curds and honey until he knows to reject the evil and to choose the good. For before the boy knows to reject the evil and to choose the good, {the land whose two kings you dread will be abandoned.}

For before the boy knows to call 'my father' and 'my mother,' [one] will carry away the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria in the presence of the king of Assyria." And Yahweh continued to speak to me again, saying, "Because this people has refused the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoices [over] Rezin and the son of Remaliah, read more.
therefore look! The Lord [is] bringing up the waters of the great and mighty river against them, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And he will rise above all his channels, and he will flow over all his banks.

An oracle of Damascus: "Look! Damascus [will] cease being a city and will become a heap of ruins. The cities of Aroer will be deserted; they will be for the flocks, and they will lie down and {no one will frighten} [them]. And [the] fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, and [the] kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Aram will be like the glory of the children of Israel," {declares} Yahweh of hosts.

Concerning Damascus: "Hamath and Arpad are ashamed, for they have heard bad news; they melt. [There is] concern in the sea. It is not able to keep quiet. Damascus has grown slack. She has turned away to flee and panic. Anxiety has seized [her], and labor pains have grasped her, like a woman in labor. How [the] city of praise has not been abandoned! The city of my joy! read more.
{Therefore} her young men will fall in her public squares, and all {the soldiers} will perish in that day," {declares} Yahweh of hosts. "And I will kindle a fire at the wall of Damascus, and it will devour the citadel fortresses of Ben-hadad."

Thus says Yahweh, "For three transgressions of Damascus and for four I will not revoke [the punishment], because they threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron! So I will send fire against Hazael's house and it will consume the citadel fortresses of Ben-Hadad. I will break the gate bars of Damascus and I will cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven and the one who takes hold of the scepter of Beth Eden, and the people of Aram will go into exile to Kir," says Yahweh.


So Saul took the kingship over Israel, and he fought all around against his enemies, against Moab, against the {Ammonites}, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. He inflicted punishment against all who rebelled.

When the {Ammonites} saw that they had become odious to David, the {Ammonites} sent [word] and hired Aram Beth-Rehob and Aram-Zobah, twenty thousand infantry; and [they also hired] the king of Maacah, a thousand men, and the men of Tob, twelve thousand men.

The {Ammonites} came out and {drew up a battle formation} at the entrance of the gate, but Aram-Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah [were] alone in the open field.

God had [also] raised Rezon the son of Eliada as an adversary against him, who had fled from Hadadezer the king of Zobah, his master.

Then David struck down Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his monument at the Euphrates River.

And when the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah-Hamath, David struck down twenty-two thousand men of Aram.

And when Tou the king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer the king of Zobah,

And when the {Ammonites} saw that they made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the {Ammonites} sent one thousand talents of silver to hire for themselves horses and chariots from Aram-Naharaim, Aram-Maacah, and Zobah.


So he said, "Men--brothers and fathers--listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham [while he] was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran,

And Isaac was {forty years old} when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-Aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, as his wife.

Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

And {you shall declare} and you shall say {before} your God, 'My ancestor [was] a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt, and there he dwelt as an alien {few in number}, and there he became a great nation, mighty and numerous.


So the {anger of Yahweh was kindled} against Israel, and he gave them into the hand of Hazael king of Aram and into the hand of Ben-Hadad the son of Hazael {repeatedly}.

Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.

For there was no army left over for Jehoahaz except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry, for the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them as the dust at threshing.


The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. And the sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.

The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, Aram, Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.

And Geshur and Aram took Havvoth-Jair from them, Kenath and its villages, sixty cities. All these [were] the {descendants} of Makir, the father of Gilead.

And he lifted up his oracle and said, "From Aram Balak lead me, from the mountains of the east the king of Moab, 'Go for me, curse Jacob, and go, denounce Israel.'


And the {astrologers} said to the king [in] Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants and we will reveal the explanation."

Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah and Shebna and Joah said to the chief commander, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we [are] understanding, but you must not speak Judean with us in the ears of the people who [are] on the wall."

And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated from Aramaic.


So Paul, [after] remaining many days longer, said farewell to the brothers [and] sailed away to Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved [his] head at Cenchrea, because he had [taken] a vow.

And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Then I came to the regions of Syria and of Cilicia,

And [after we] sighted Cyprus and left it behind {on the port side}, we sailed to Syria and arrived at Tyre, because the ship was to unload [its] cargo there.


So he sent horses, chariots, and an oppressing army there. They arrived at night and surrounded the town.

They came down to him, and Elisha prayed to Yahweh and said, "Please strike this people with blindness," so he struck them with blindness as {Elisha had spoken}. Then Elisha said to them, "This [is] not the way and this [is] not the city. Come after me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek." Then he brought them to Samaria. It happened at the moment they came to Samaria, Elisha said, "O Yahweh, open the eyes of these that they may see," so Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw, and look, the middle of Samaria!


You must muster an army for yourself as the army {you have lost}, and horses and chariots as the horses and chariots [you lost], then we will fight them in the plain. Surely we will be stronger than they." So he listened to their voice and did so.

The servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods [are] gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we. Let us fight with them in the plain; surely we will be stronger than they.


But Gehazi the servant of Elisha, the man of God, thought, "Look, my master has refrained from taking what this Aramean Naaman brought from his hand. {As Yahweh lives}, I will certainly run after him, and I will accept something from him."

Then he said, "If Aram [is] stronger than I [am], you must become my deliverer; but if the {Ammonites} [are] too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you.


He went with Joram the son of Ahab for the battle against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-Gilead, and the Arameans wounded Joram.

But Joram the king had returned to heal in Jezreel from the wound which the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought with Hazael king of Aram. Jehu said, "{If this is what you want}, do not let him go out as a fugitive from the city to go to make it known in Jezreel."


Now Naaman was the commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man before his master and {highly regarded}, for by him Yahweh had given victory to Aram. Now the man was a mighty warrior, [but he was] afflicted with a skin disease.

The king of Aram commanded his thirty-two chariot commanders, saying, "You shall not fight with small or great, but only against the king of Israel, him alone!"


When the Arameans went [on] a raid, they brought back a young girl from the land of Israel, and {she came into the service of} the wife of Naaman.

So he made a great feast for them, and they ate and drank; then he sent them, and they went to their master. And the bands of the Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.


And again, the {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. They served the Baals, the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, and the gods of the {Ammonites} and Philistines; they abandoned Yahweh and did not serve him.

As far as this matter, may Yahweh pardon your servant when my master goes [into] the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he [is] leaning himself on my arm, that I also bow down [in] the house of Rimmon: when I bow down [in] the house of Rimmon, may Yahweh please pardon your servant in this matter."


On the next day, he took the bed cover, dipped [it] in the water, and spread [it] over his face so that he died. Then Hazael became king in his place.

Elisha came [to] Damascus. Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram [was] ill, and he was told, "The man of God has come up here."


Then Rezin the king of Aram went up [with] Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel against Jerusalem for battle, and they besieged Ahaz but were not able to {defeat} him.

But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put Yahweh to the test."


So I will send fire against Hazael's house and it will consume the citadel fortresses of Ben-Hadad.

"And I will kindle a fire at the wall of Damascus, and it will devour the citadel fortresses of Ben-hadad."


For the head of Aram [is] Damascus, and the head of Damascus [is] Rezin, and in sixty-five years from now Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.

For before the boy knows to reject the evil and to choose the good, {the land whose two kings you dread will be abandoned.}


And Isaac was {forty years old} when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-Aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, as his wife.

And the servant took ten camels from his master's camels, and he went with all [kinds of] his master's good things in his hand. And he arose and went to Aram-Naharaim, to the city of Nahor.


And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

writing [this letter] {to be delivered by them}: The apostles and the elders, brothers. To the brothers [who are] from among the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia. Greetings!


When Aram of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, the king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand men of Aram. David placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, so Aram became servants of David, bringing tribute. Yahweh protected David everywhere he went.

And when the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah-Hamath, David struck down twenty-two thousand men of Aram. Then David set up [garrisons] in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became servants to David, bearing tribute. And Yahweh delivered David wherever he went.


Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, "I [am] your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel who are rising up against me." Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the house of Yahweh and in the treasury rooms of the palace of the king, and he sent a gift to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria listened to him and he went up to Damascus and captured it and deported them to Kir. He also killed Rezin.

Did the gods of each of the nations ever rescue the land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where [are] the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where [are] the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? For did they rescue Samaria from my hand?


So Yahweh sent against him raiding bands of Chaldeans, raiding bands of Aram, raiding bands of Moab, and raiding bands of the {Ammonites}. He had sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of Yahweh that he had spoken by the hand of his servants the prophets.

But the army of [the] Chaldeans pursued after them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And they took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon [at] Riblah in the land of Hamath. And he pronounced {sentence} on him.


Concerning Damascus: "Hamath and Arpad are ashamed, for they have heard bad news; they melt. [There is] concern in the sea. It is not able to keep quiet. Damascus has grown slack. She has turned away to flee and panic. Anxiety has seized [her], and labor pains have grasped her, like a woman in labor.


When the Arameans saw that they [were] defeated before Israel, they gathered themselves together. Then Hadadezer sent and brought out the Arameans who [were] beyond the Euphrates, and they came to Helam. Now Shobach, the commander of the army of Hadadezer, {was at their head}. David [was] told, so he gathered all Israel and crossed over the Jordan and came to Helam. Aram {arranged themselves in battle lines} to meet David, and they fought with him. read more.
And Aram fled before Israel, and David killed from [the] Arameans seven hundred chariot teams and forty thousand horsemen. He struck down Shobach, the commander of his army, and he died there. When all the kings, the servants of Hadadezer, saw that he had been defeated before Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them, and Aram [was] afraid to help the {Ammonites} any longer.


Then the man of God approached, and he spoke to the king of Israel, and he said, "Thus says Yahweh: 'Because Aram has said, "Yahweh [is] a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys," ' I will give all this great crowd into your hand that you may know that I [am] Yahweh." These encamped opposite for seven days, and it happened on the seventh day that {the battle began}, and the {Israelites} killed the Arameans, one hundred thousand infantry in one day. Then those who remained fled to Aphek, to the city, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who had remained, so Ben-Hadad fled and went to the innermost rooms of the city.


Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel, and he said to him, "Go, strengthen yourself; {consider well} what you should do, for the king of Aram is coming against you at the turn of the year." The servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods [are] gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we. Let us fight with them in the plain; surely we will be stronger than they. Do this thing: remove the kings each from his post, and put a governor in their place. read more.
You must muster an army for yourself as the army {you have lost}, and horses and chariots as the horses and chariots [you lost], then we will fight them in the plain. Surely we will be stronger than they." So he listened to their voice and did so.


Suddenly a certain prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, "Thus says Yahweh: 'Have you seen all this great crowd? Behold, I [am] giving it into your hand today, that you may know that I [am] Yahweh.'" Ahab said, "By whom?" And he said, "Thus says Yahweh: 'By the servants of the commanders of the provinces.'" He asked, "Who will begin the battle?" And he said, "You." So he mustered the servants of the commanders of the provinces, and there were two hundred and thirty-two. After them he mustered all of the army, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand. read more.
They went out at noon while Ben-Hadad [was] drinking [himself] drunk in the tents, he and the thirty-two kings helping him. Then the servants of the commanders of the provinces went out first, and Ben-Hadad sent, and they reported to him, saying, "Men have come out from Samaria." Then he said, "If they have come out for peace, seize them alive; and if they have come out for war, seize them alive." But these had come out from the city, the servants of the commanders of the provinces, and the army that [was] after them. Each man killed his man, and the Arameans fled, so Israel pursued them, but Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on a horse with cavalry.


Then his servants said to him, "Please now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are kings of mercy. Let us now put sackcloth on around our waists and ropes on our heads. Then let us go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps {he will let you live}." So they tied sackcloth around their waists and ropes on their heads. Then they went to the king of Israel and said, "Your servant Ben-Hadad says, 'Please let me live.'" And he said, "[Is] my brother still alive?" The men took this as a good omen and they quickly accepted [it] as true from him, and they said, "Your brother Ben-Hadad [lives]." So he said, "Go, get him." Ben-Hadad came out to him, and [Ahab] pulled him up on the chariot. read more.
[Ben-Hadad] said to him, "The cities which my father took from your father I shall return. You may set up streets with stalls for yourself in Damascus just as my father set up in Samaria." [Then Ahab said], "{On these terms} I will let you go," So he made a covenant with him and let him go. A certain man from the sons of the prophets said to his fellow countryman, "By the word of Yahweh, please strike me." But the man refused to strike him. He said to him, "Because you have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh, look, as you now are going from me, a lion will kill you." When he went from beside him, the lion found him and killed him. Then he found another man and said, "Strike me, please," so the man struck him sharply and wounded him. Then the prophet went and {waited} for the king along the road and disguised himself with a headband over his eyes. As the king [was] passing by, he called to the king and said, "Your servant went out in the thick of the battle, and suddenly a man turned and brought a man to me and said, 'Guard this man. If by any means he should be missed, it will be your life in his place, or you shall pay a talent of silver.' It happened that your servant {was busy here and there}, and he {disappeared}." Then the king said to him, "Your own judgment has been determined." He quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him, that he [was] from the prophets. He said to him, "Thus says Yahweh: 'Because you have let the man I devoted for destruction go from [your] hand, your life shall be in place of his life and your people in place of his people.'" Then the king of Israel went to his house, sullen and angry, and he came to Samaria.


Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "[I will] disguise myself and go into the battle, but you wear your robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself, and he went into the battle. The king of Aram commanded his thirty-two chariot commanders, saying, "You shall not fight with small or great, but only against the king of Israel, him alone!" When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "Surely he [is] the king of Israel," and they turned to fight against him, so Jehoshaphat called out. read more.
When the chariot commanders saw that it [was] not the king of Israel, they turned away from him. But another man drew his bow fully and struck the king of Israel between the armor scales and the breastplate; so he said to his chariot driver, "Turn {the chariot} and bring me out from the camp, for I am wounded." The battle intensified on that day, and the king was being propped up in the chariot opposite Aram, but he died in the evening, and the blood of the wound ran out to the floor of the chariot. Then the shout passed through the camp about sunset, saying, "Each man to his city and each to his land!"


It happened at the turning of the year that Ben-Hadad mustered Aram and went up to Aphek for the war with Israel. The {Israelites} had been mustered and provisioned, and they went to engage them. The {Israelites} encamped opposite them as two flocks of goats, but the Arameans filled the land.


When the {Ammonites} saw that they had become odious to David, the {Ammonites} sent [word] and hired Aram Beth-Rehob and Aram-Zobah, twenty thousand infantry; and [they also hired] the king of Maacah, a thousand men, and the men of Tob, twelve thousand men. When David heard, he sent Joab and all the army of mighty warriors. The {Ammonites} came out and {drew up a battle formation} at the entrance of the gate, but Aram-Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah [were] alone in the open field. read more.
When Joab saw that {the battle was to be fought on two fronts}, he chose from all [the] members of the elite troops of Israel and {lined them up for battle} to meet Aram. The rest of the army he placed into the hand of his brother Abishai, who {arranged them in battle lines} to meet the {Ammonites}. Then he said, "If Aram [is] stronger than I [am], you must become my deliverer; but if the {Ammonites} [are] too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you. Be strong, and let us strengthen ourselves for the sake of the people and for the sake of the cities of our God. May Yahweh do [what is] good in his eyes. Joab and all the people who [were] with him moved forward into the battle against Aram, and they fled from before him. When the {Ammonites} saw that Aram had fled, they fled from before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from [fighting] against the {Ammonites} and came to Jerusalem.


King David dedicated them also to Yahweh [along] with the silver and the gold that he had dedicated from all of the nations which he had subdued; from Aram and from Moab and from the {Ammonites} and from [the] Philistines and from Amalek and from the plunder of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, the king of Zobah.


Now the woman was a Greek--a Syrophoenician by nationality--and she was asking him that he would expel the demon from her daughter.

And [after we] sighted Cyprus and left it behind {on the port side}, we sailed to Syria and arrived at Tyre, because the ship was to unload [its] cargo there.


Elisha became ill with the illness with which he would die, so Jehoash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, and said, "My father, my father; the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!" Elisha said to him, "Take a bow and arrows," so he took him a bow and arrows. He said to the king of Israel, "{Lay your hand on the bow}," so he lay hold [of it]; then Elisha put his hand on the hands of the king. read more.
Then he said, "Open the window to the east," so he opened [it]. Elisha said, "Shoot," and he shot. Then he said, "An arrow of victory for Yahweh, and an arrow of victory against Aram; you shall fight the Arameans in Aphek until finishing [them]." Then he said, "Take the arrows," so he took [them]. He said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground," so he struck three times and stopped. [Yet] the man of God became angry against him and said, "For striking five or six times, then you would have defeated Aram until finishing [them], but now you will defeat Aram [only] three times."


Asa took all of the silver and gold remaining in the storerooms of the house of Yahweh and in the treasury rooms of the house of the king, and he gave them into the hand of his servants; so King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad the son of Tabrimmon the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying, "[Let there be] a covenant between me and you, between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel that he may go up [away] from me." Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa, and he sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and he attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel-Beth-Maacah, and all of Kinnereth, in addition to all the land of Naphtali.


and the king of Israel said to his servants, "Do you know Ramoth-Gilead belongs to us, and we [are] doing nothing about taking it from the hand of the king of Aram?" Then he said to Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to the battle for Ramoth-Gilead?" Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "{I am like you}; {my people are like your people}; {my horses are like your horses}." Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, "Please inquire for the word of Yahweh today." read more.
Then the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and he said to them, "Shall I go against Ramoth-Gilead for the battle, or should I refrain?" Then they said, "Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king." So Jehoshaphat said, "Is there no prophet of Yahweh here that we might still inquire from him?" Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "[There is] still one man to inquire from Yahweh, but I despise him, for he never prophesies [anything] good concerning me, but only bad: Micaiah the son of Imlah." Then Jehoshaphat said, "The king should not say so." The king of Israel summoned a certain court official, and he said, "Quickly fetch Micaiah son of Imlah." The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah [were] each sitting on his throne, dressed [in their] robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, [with] all the prophets prophesying before them. Zedekiah son of Kenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, "Thus says Yahweh: 'With these you shall gore the Arameans until finishing them.'" All of the prophets [were] likewise prophesying, saying, "Go up [to] Ramoth-Gilead and triumph, and Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king." Then the messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, "Please now, the words of the prophet are {unanimously} favorable to the king. Please let your words be as one word with them, and speak favorably." Then Micaiah said, "{As Yahweh lives}, surely only as Yahweh speaks to me, that will I speak." When he came to the king, the king asked him, "Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to the battle, or shall we refrain?" He said to him, "Go up and triumph, and Yahweh will give [it] into the hand of the king." Then the king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear that you shall not tell me [anything] but truth in the name of Yahweh?" So he said, "I saw all of Israel scattering to the mountains, like the sheep without a shepherd. Yahweh also said, 'There are no masters for these, let them return in peace, each to his house.'" Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not say to you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but disaster?" And he said, "Therefore, hear the word of Yahweh. I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne with all the hosts of heaven standing beside him from his right hand and from his left [hand]. And Yahweh said, 'Who will entice Ahab so that he will go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?' Then {this one was saying one thing and the other one was saying another}. Then a spirit came out and stood before Yahweh and said, 'I will entice him,' and Yahweh said to him, 'How?' He said, 'I will go out and I will be a false spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he said, 'You shall entice and succeed, go out and do so.' So then, see that Yahweh has placed a false spirit in the mouth of all of these your prophets, and Yahweh has spoken disaster concerning you." Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah came near and slapped Micaiah on the cheek and said, "When did the Spirit of Yahweh pass from me to speak with you?" Then Micaiah said, "Behold, you [are about to] see on that day when you go {from room to room} to hide." The king of Israel said, "Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the commander of the city and to Jehoash the son of the king; and say, 'Thus says the king: "Put this [fellow in] the house of imprisonment and feed him reduced rations of food and water until I come in peace." '" Then Micaiah said, "If you indeed return in peace, then Yahweh has not spoken with me." Then he said, "Let all the peoples hear!" Then the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up [to] Ramoth-Gilead.


Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered all of his army, and thirty-two kings [were] with him, and horses and chariots. He went up and laid siege against Samaria and fought with it. He sent messengers to the city to Ahab king of Israel. He said to him, "Thus says Ben-Hadad: 'Your silver and your gold are mine, and your women and your best sons are mine.'" read more.
Then the king of Israel answered and said, "As your word, my master the king; I [am] yours, and all that is mine [is yours]." The messengers returned and said, "Thus says Ben-Hadad, saying, 'I sent to you saying, "Your silver and gold are mine, and your women and your best sons you must give to me." So [at this] time tomorrow, I will send my servants to you that they might search your house and the houses of your servants. All the desire of your eyes {they will lay hands on} and take it away.'" Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, "Please know and realize that this [man is] seeking trouble, for he sent to me for my women, my sons, my silver, and my gold, and I did not withhold [anything] from him." All of the elders and all of the people said to him, "Do not listen and do not consent." So he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, "Say to my lord the king, 'All that you demanded from your servant at the first, I will do, but this thing I am not able to do.'" Then the messengers went and {made a report to him}. Then Ben-Hadad sent to him and said, "Thus may the gods do to me and thus may they add if the dust of Samaria is sufficient for the hollow of a hand for all of the people who are at my feet." The king of Israel answered and said, "Tell [him], 'Let not him who girds on his armor boast as one who takes off his armor.'" It happened at the moment he heard this word, he and the kings [were] drinking in the {tents}. He said to his servants, "Get ready [to attack]." So they got ready [to attack] the city.


It happened after this that Ben-Hadad king of Aram assembled all of his army and marched up and laid siege against Samaria. There was a great famine in Samaria, and behold, a siege [was] against it, until the head of a donkey [went] for eighty shekels of silver, and one fourth of the measure of the dung of doves [went] for five shekels of silver. It happened that the king of Israel [was] crossing over on the wall, and a woman called out to him, saying, "Help, my lord the king!" read more.
He said, "No, let Yahweh help you. {How} can I save you? From the threshing floor or from the wine press?" The king said to her, "{What is the problem}?" Then the woman said, "This woman said to me, 'Give me your son, and let us eat him today, then tomorrow we will eat my son.' So we cooked my son and ate him, and I said to her the next day, 'Give your son that we may eat him.' But she had hidden her son."


And at [the] end of [some] years they will make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make a peace treaty, but {she will not retain her position of power}, and his offspring will not endure, and she will be given up, she and her attendants and her child supporting her, in those times. And a branch from her roots will rise up [in] his place, and he will come against the army and he will enter the stronghold of the king of the north and he will take action against them and he will prevail. And also their gods with their idols [and] with the {precious vessels}, silver and gold he will take to Egypt into captivity, and [for] years {he will leave the king of the north alone}. read more.
And [then] he will come into the kingdom of the king of the south, but he will return to his land. "But his sons will wage war and they will gather a multitude of great forces and {he will advance with great force}, and he will overflow [like a flood] and he will pass through and he will return, and they will wage war up to his fortress. And the king of the south will become furious, and he will go and he will battle against him, against the king of the north; and he will muster a great multitude, and the multitude will be given into his hand. When the multitude is carried off, his heart will be exalted and he will overthrow {tens of thousands}, but he will not prevail. And the king of the north will again raise a multitude, greater than the former, and {at the end of some years} he will surely come with great army and with great supplies. "And in these times many will rise [up] against the king of the south, and {the violent ones of your people} will lift themselves {to fulfill} [the] vision, but they will fall. And the king of the north will come, and he will throw up siege ramps and capture a city of fortifications and the military forces of the south and {his choice troops} will not stand, for there is no strength [left] to resist. And the [one] coming to him will act {according to} his pleasure, and there is no [one who] {will stand} {before him}, and he will stand in {the beautiful land} and complete destruction [will be] in his power. And he will set his face to come with the authority of his whole kingdom and will form an agreement; and he will {act}, and the daughter of women he will give to him to destroy it, but [the ploy] will not succeed {and she will not support him}. And he will turn his face to [the] coastlands, and he will capture many, but a commander will end his insults to him {so that instead his insults will turn back upon him}. And he will turn back his face toward the strongholds of his land, but he will stumble and he will fall and will not be found. "Then in his place will arise [one] sending an official [throughout] [the] glory of [his] kingdom, and {in a few days} he will be broken, but not in anger and not in battle. And in his place a despicable person will arise on whom they have not conferred the majesty of [the] kingdom, and he will come in {without warning} and he will seize [the] kingdom by deceit. And {before him} {mighty military forces} will be utterly swept away, and they will be broken, and also [the] leader of [the] covenant. And after an alliance [is made] with him, he will act deceitfully, and he will rise and he will become powerful with few people [backing him]. In [a time of] ease and in [the] rich parts of [the] province, he will come and he will do what {his predecessors} did not do; he will distribute plunder and spoil and possessions to them, and he will devise his plans against fortifications, but [only] {for a time}. And he will stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south and {with a much greater and stronger army}; but he will not succeed, for they will devise plans against him. And those who eat of his royal rations will break him and his army will be overwhelmed, and many will fall, slain. {And two of the kings} {will bend their hearts} to evil. And at the {same table} they will speak lies, but [what is discussed] will not succeed, for still an end [is coming] at the appointed time. Then he will return to his land with many possessions, but his heart [will be set] against {the holy covenant}, and he will take action and he will return to his land. "At the appointed time he will return and he will come into the south, but it will not be {as it was before}. And [the] ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart, and he will turn back, and he will be enraged {against the holy covenant}, and he will take action, and he will turn back, and he will pay attention to [those who] forsake {the holy covenant}. And military forces from him {will occupy} and will profane the {sanctuary stronghold}, and they will abolish the regular burnt offering, and they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. "And those who violate [the] covenant he will seduce with flattery, but the persons who know their God will stand firm and will take action. And those who have insight {will instruct} the many, but they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder {for some time}. And {when they fall} they will receive little help, and many will join with them [in] hypocrisy. And [even] some of those {who have insight} will fall [in order for] them to be refined by it, and to be purified and cleansed until the time of [the] end, for the appointed time [is] still to come. "Then the king will do {as he pleases}, and he will exalt himself and will consider himself above any god, and he will speak horrendous things {against} [the] God of gods, yet he will succeed until [the period] of anger is finished, for [what] is determined will be done. He will not pay respect to the gods of his ancestors, or to [the] darling of women, and not to any god will he pay respect, for he will consider himself great over all [gods]. But {instead} he will honor the god of fortresses, a god whom his ancestors did not know. He will honor [him] with gold, and with silver, and with precious stones and with costly gifts. And he will deal with [the] {fortified strongholds} with [the help of] {a foreign god}; and he will increase wealth for whoever will acknowledge [him], and he will cause them to rule over the many, and he will distribute land for a price. "And at [the] time of [the] end the king of the south will attack him, and the king of the north will storm against him with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships, and he will advance against the countries and {he will sweep through like a flood}. And he will come {into the beautiful land} and many will fall victim, but these will escape from his power: Edom and Moab and the best part of the {Ammonites}. And he will stretch out his hand against countries and the land of Egypt {will not escape}. And he will rule over the treasures of gold and the silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and [the] Libyans and [the] Cushites [will follow] in his footsteps. But reports will terrify him from [the] east and from [the] north, and he will go out with great fury to destroy and [to] exterminate many. And [then] he will pitch the tents of his palace between [the] sea [and] {the beautiful holy mountain}, and he will come to his end, and there is no one helping him."


{Therefore} her young men will fall in her public squares, and all {the soldiers} will perish in that day," {declares} Yahweh of hosts.


The king of Aram was fighting with Israel, so he consulted with his officers, saying, "My camp is {at such and such a place}." Then the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, "Take care while crossing over to this place, because [the] Arameans [are] descending there." So the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God said to him and warned him, so he was on guard there {continually}. read more.
Then the heart of the king of Aram was stormy because of this matter, so he called his servants and said to them, "Can you not tell me {who among us sides with the king of Israel}?" Then one of his servants said, "No, my lord the king, but Elisha the prophet who is [in] Israel tells the king of Israel things which you speak {in your own bedchamber}."


And Isaac was {forty years old} when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-Aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, as his wife.

Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.


An oracle of Damascus: "Look! Damascus [will] cease being a city and will become a heap of ruins. The cities of Aroer will be deserted; they will be for the flocks, and they will lie down and {no one will frighten} [them]. And [the] fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, and [the] kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Aram will be like the glory of the children of Israel," {declares} Yahweh of hosts.


Damascus [was] trading [with] you {because of} the abundance of your products, because of the abundance of all of [your] wealth, [trading] with the wine of Helbon and white wool.


So David made a name for himself when he returned from defeating Aram in the Valley of Salt, eighteen thousand.


Then Yahweh said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. Go and anoint Hazael as king over Aram;


So they got up at dusk to go to the camp of [the] Arameans. They went up to the edge of the camp of [the] Arameans, and look, there was no man there! Now the Lord had caused the camp of [the] Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, the sound of horses, and the sound of a great army. So they said {to one another}, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us!"


They lived three years, and there was no war between Aram and Israel.


When Aram of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, the king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand men of Aram.


He restored the boundary of Israel from Lebo-Hamath up to the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of Yahweh which he spoke by the hand of his servant Jonah the son of Amittai the prophet, who was from Gath-Hepher.

Now the remainder of the acts of Jeroboam, all that he did, his powerful [deeds], how he fought, and how he restored Damascus and Hamath of Judah to Israel, [are] they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?


When Aram of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, the king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand men of Aram.


David placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, so Aram became servants of David, bringing tribute. Yahweh protected David everywhere he went.


So the king of Assyria listened to him and he went up to Damascus and captured it and deported them to Kir. He also killed Rezin.


David placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, so Aram became servants of David, bringing tribute. Yahweh protected David everywhere he went.


At that time, Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram and drove out the Judeans from Elath. The Arameans came to Elath and have lived there until this day.


Are not the Abana and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all of the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them that I may be clean?" Then he turned and left in anger.



And again, the {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. They served the Baals, the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, and the gods of the {Ammonites} and Philistines; they abandoned Yahweh and did not serve him.


When the {Ammonites} saw that they had become odious to David, the {Ammonites} sent [word] and hired Aram Beth-Rehob and Aram-Zobah, twenty thousand infantry; and [they also hired] the king of Maacah, a thousand men, and the men of Tob, twelve thousand men.

The {Ammonites} came out and {drew up a battle formation} at the entrance of the gate, but Aram-Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah [were] alone in the open field.


When Toi, the king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, Toi sent Joram his son to King David {to greet him} and to congratulate him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him; {for Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi}. {He brought with him} objects of silver and objects of gold and objects of bronze.


For before the boy knows to call 'my father' and 'my mother,' [one] will carry away the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria in the presence of the king of Assyria."


Then David struck down Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his monument at the Euphrates River. David captured from him one thousand and seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand {foot soldiers}. David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but {from them} he spared a hundred chariot horses. When Aram of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, the king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand men of Aram. read more.
David placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, so Aram became servants of David, bringing tribute. Yahweh protected David everywhere he went. David took the small round gold shields which had {belonged} to the servants of Hadadezer, and he brought them [to] Jerusalem. From Betah and from Berothai, the towns of Hadadezer, King David took very many bronze [items]. When Toi, the king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, Toi sent Joram his son to King David {to greet him} and to congratulate him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him; {for Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi}. {He brought with him} objects of silver and objects of gold and objects of bronze. King David dedicated them also to Yahweh [along] with the silver and the gold that he had dedicated from all of the nations which he had subdued; from Aram and from Moab and from the {Ammonites} and from [the] Philistines and from Amalek and from the plunder of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, the king of Zobah. So David made a name for himself when he returned from defeating Aram in the Valley of Salt, eighteen thousand.


For the head of Aram [is] Damascus, and the head of Damascus [is] Rezin, and in sixty-five years from now Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.


But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest [and] asked for letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, both men and women, he could bring [them] tied up to Jerusalem. Now as [he] proceeded, it happened that [when] he approached Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. read more.
And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" So he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he [said], "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting! But get up and enter into the city, and it will be told to you {what you must do}." (Now the men who were traveling together with him stood speechless, [because they] heard the voice but saw no one.) So Saul got up from the ground, but [although] his eyes were open he could see nothing. And leading him by the hand, they brought [him] into Damascus. And he was {unable to see} [for] three days, and he did not eat or drink. Now there was a certain disciple in Damascus {named} Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias!" And he said, "Behold, [here] I [am], Lord!" And the Lord [said] to him, "Get up, go to the street called 'Straight' and in the house of Judas look for {a man named Saul from Tarsus}. For behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man {named} Ananias coming in and placing hands on him so that he may regain [his] sight." But Ananias replied, "Lord, I have heard from many [people] about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, and here he has authority from the chief priests to tie up all who call upon your name!" But the Lord said to him, "Go, because this man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." So Ananias departed and entered into the house, and placing [his] hands on him, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me so that you may regain [your] sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." And immediately [something] like scales fell from his eyes and he regained [his] sight and got up [and] was baptized, and [after] taking food, he regained his strength. And he was with the disciples in Damascus several days. And immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: "This one is the Son of God!" And all who heard [him] were amazed, and were saying, "Is this not the one who was wreaking havoc in Jerusalem [on] those who call upon this name, and had come here for this [reason], that he could bring them tied up to the chief priests?" But Saul was increasing in strength even more, and was confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus [by] proving that this one is the Christ. And when many days had elapsed, the Jews plotted to do away with him. But their plot became known to Saul, and they were also watching the gates both day and night so that they could do away with him. But his disciples took [him] at night [and] let him down through the wall [by] lowering [him] in a basket. And [when he] arrived in Jerusalem, he was attempting to associate with the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, [because they] did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him [and] brought [him] to the apostles and related to them how he had seen the Lord on the road and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. And he was going in and going out among them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. And he was speaking and debating with the {Greek-speaking Jews}, but they were trying to do away with him. And [when] the brothers found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus. Then the church throughout all of Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being strengthened. And living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it was increasing [in numbers].


The king of Assyria brought from Babylonia, from Cush, from Arva, from Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and he settled [them] in the cities of Samaria in place of the {Israelites}, so they took possession of Samaria and lived in her cities.


for your servant made a vow while I [was] staying in Geshur in Aram, saying, '{If Yahweh will indeed let me return} to Jerusalem, then I will worship Yahweh.'"


Thus says Yahweh, "For three transgressions of Damascus and for four I will not revoke [the punishment], because they threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron!


I will break the gate bars of Damascus and I will cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven and the one who takes hold of the scepter of Beth Eden, and the people of Aram will go into exile to Kir," says Yahweh.


(This first registration took place [when] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to be registered, each one to his own town.


(This first registration took place [when] Quirinius was governor of Syria.)


And a report about him went out {throughout} Syria, and they brought to him all those {who were sick} with various diseases and afflicted by torments, demon-possessed and epileptics and paralytics, and he healed them.



References

Hastings

Easton

American

Fausets

Morish

Smith

Watsons