What the Bible Says About Syria: Understanding Its Meaning and Significance

Scripture

⁵ Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria.
² Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife.
³ She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
⁴ Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.”
⁵ And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”
⁶ And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.”
⁷ And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.”
⁸ But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
⁹ So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house.
¹⁰ And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.”
¹¹ But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.
¹² Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
¹³ But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
¹⁴ Then he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

2 Kings 5:1-14

2 Kings 6:8-23: ⁸ Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.”
⁹ And the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.”
¹⁰ And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.
¹¹ And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?”
¹² And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
¹³ And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in Dothan.”
¹⁴ So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
¹⁶ He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
¹⁸ And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha.
¹⁹ And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.
²⁰ As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
²¹ As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?”
²² He answered, “You shall not strike them down. Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.”
²³ So he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel.

2 Kings 7:1-20: ⁷ Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.”
² Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But he said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”
³ Now there were four men who were lepers at the entrance to the gate.
⁴ If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die.”
⁵ And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians. But when they came to the edge of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no one there.
⁶ For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and of horses, the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us.”
⁷ So they fled away in the twilight and abandoned their tents, their horses, and their donkeys, leaving the camp as it was, and fled for their lives.
⁸ And when these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent and ate and drank, and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and went and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent and carried off things from it and went and hid them.
⁹ Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king’s household.”
¹⁰ So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city and told them, “We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was no one to be seen or heard there, nothing but the horses tied and the donkeys tied and the tents as they were.”
¹¹ Then the gatekeepers called out, and it was told within the king’s household.
¹² And the king rose in the night and said to his servants, “I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry. So they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the open country, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive and get into the city.’”
¹³ And one of his servants said, “Let some men take five of the remaining horses, seeing that those who are left here will fare like the whole multitude of Israel who have already perished. Let us send and see.”
¹⁴ So they took two horsemen, and the king sent them after the army of the Syrians, saying, “Go and see.”
¹⁵ They went after them as far as the Jordan, and behold, all the way was littered with garments and equipment that the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned and told the king.
¹⁶ So the people went out and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord.
¹⁷ Now the king had appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. And the people trampled him in the gate, so that he died, as the man of God had said when the king came down to him.
¹⁸ And it happened just as the man of God had said to the king: “Two seahs of barley shall be sold for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, at this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria.”
¹⁹ The officer had answered the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could such a thing happen?” And he had said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”
²⁰ And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate and he died.

2 Kings 8:7-15: ⁷ Now Elisha came to Damascus. Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick. And when it was told him, “The man of God has come here,”
⁸ And the king said to Hazael, “Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord through him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’”
⁹ So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camel loads. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’”
¹⁰ And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover,’ but the Lord has shown me that he shall certainly die.”
¹¹ And he set his face and stared at him until he was ashamed. And the man of God wept.
¹² And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.”
¹³ And Hazael said, “What is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you are to be king over Syria.”
¹⁴ Then Hazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath and took it. When Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem,
¹⁵ But on the next day he took the bed cloth and dipped it in water and spread it over his face, till he died. And Hazael became king in his place.

2 Kings 13:14-25: ¹⁴ Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”
¹⁵ And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows.
¹⁶ Then he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with your arrows.” And he struck it three times and stopped.
¹⁷ And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.”
¹⁸ Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped.
¹⁹ Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”
²⁰ So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year.
²¹ Now when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to put on armor, from the youngest to the oldest, were called out and were drawn up at the border.
²² Now Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.
²³ But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now.
²⁴ So Hazael king of Syria died, and Ben-hadad his son reigned in his place.
²⁵ And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities that he had taken from Jehoahaz his father in war. Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.

1 Kings 20:1-34: ¹ Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together. Thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and closed in on Samaria and fought against it.
² And he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-hadad:
³ Your silver and your gold are mine; your best wives and children also are mine.’”
⁴ And the king of Israel answered, “As you say, my lord, O king, I am yours, and all that I have.”
⁵ And the messengers came again and said, “Thus says Ben-hadad: ‘I sent to you, saying, “Deliver to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children.”
⁶ But about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants and lay hands on whatever pleases you and take it away.
⁷ Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, “Mark, now, and see how this man is seeking trouble, for he sent to me for my wives and my children, and for my silver and my gold, and I did not refuse him.”
⁸ And all the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen or consent.”
⁹ Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you first demanded of your servant I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’” And the messengers departed and brought him word again.
¹⁰ Ben-hadad sent to him and said, “The gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”
¹¹ And the king of Israel answered, “Tell him, ‘Let not him who straps on his armor boast himself as he who takes it off.’”
¹² And when Ben-hadad heard this message as he was drinking with the kings in the booths, he said to his men, “Take your positions.” And they took their positions against the city.
¹³ And behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will give it into your hand this day, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
¹⁴ And Ahab said, “By whom?” He said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘By the servants of the governors of the districts.’” Then he said, “Who shall begin the battle?” He answered, “You.”
¹⁵ Then he mustered the servants of the governors of the districts, and they were 232. And after them he mustered all the people of Israel, seven thousand.
¹⁶ And they went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings who helped him.
¹⁷ The young men of the leaders of the provinces went out first. And Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, “Men are coming out from Samaria.”
¹⁸ And he said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive. Or if they have come out for war, take them alive.”
¹⁹ And the servants of the governors of the districts went out first.
²⁰ They struck down every man in it, but each man fled to his own home.
²¹ And the king of Israel went out and struck the horses and chariots, and struck the Syrians with a great blow.
²² And the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself, and consider well what you have to do, for in the spring the king of Syria will come up against you.”
²³ And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
²⁴ And do this: remove the kings, each from his post, and put commanders in their places,
²⁵ and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice and did so.
²⁶ In the spring, Ben-hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
²⁷ The people of Israel were mustered and were provisioned and went against them. The people of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Syrians filled the country.
²⁸ And a man of God came near and said to the king of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys,” therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’”
²⁹ And they encamped opposite one another seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle was joined. And the people of Israel struck down of the Syrians 100,000 foot soldiers in one day.
³⁰ But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city, and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand men who were left.
³¹ And his servants said to him, “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life.”
³² So they tied on sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, and went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please, let me live.’” And he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
³³ Now the men took this as a good omen, and they quickly accepted his offer and said, “Your brother Ben-hadad lives.” Then he said, “Go and bring him.” So Ben-hadad came out to him, and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
³⁴ And Ben-hadad said to him, “The cities that my father took from your father I will restore, and you may establish bazaars for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” And Ahab said, “I will let you go on these terms.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

1 Kings 22:1-40: ²² For three years Syria and Israel continued without war.
² It came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.
³ And the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, and we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?”
⁴ And he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”
⁵ But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.”
⁶ Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”
⁷ But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?”
⁸ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”
⁹ Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.”
¹⁰ Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.
¹¹ And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’”
¹² And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”
¹³ And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.”
¹⁴ But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I will speak.”
¹⁵ And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go up and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”
¹⁶ And the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”
¹⁷ And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’”
¹⁸ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”
¹⁹ And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left.
²⁰ and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another.
²¹ Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’
²² And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’
²³ Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.”
²⁴ Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?”
²⁵ And Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.”
²⁶ And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah, and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son,
²⁷ and say, ‘Thus says the king, “Put this fellow in prison and feed him meager rations of bread and water, until I come in peace.”
²⁸ And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!”
²⁹ So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.
³⁰ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
³¹ Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.”
³² And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is surely the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out.
³³ And a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”
³⁴ But someone drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”
³⁵ And the battle continued that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians, until at evening he died. And the blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot.
³⁶ So there went a proclamation throughout the camp as the sun was going down, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his country.”
³⁷ So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria.
³⁸ And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed themselves in it, according to the word of the Lord that he had spoken.
³⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did, and the ivory house that he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
⁴⁰ So Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.

Isaiah 7:1-9: ¹ In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it.
² When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.
³ Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field.
⁴ And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah.
⁵ Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying,
⁶ “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,”
⁷ Thus says the Lord God: It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass.
⁸ For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. And within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people.
⁹ And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.

Isaiah 17:1-14: ¹ An oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins.
² The cities of Aroer are deserted; they will be for flocks, which will lie down, and none will make them afraid.
³ The fortress will disappear from Ephraim,
and the kingdom from Damascus;
and the remnant of Syria will be
like the glory of the children of Israel,
declares the Lord of hosts.
⁴ “And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low,
and the fat of his flesh will grow lean.”
⁵ And it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain and his arm harvests the ears, and as when one gleans the ears of grain in the Valley of Rephaim,
⁶ Gleanings will be left in it, as when an olive tree is beaten— two or three berries in the top of the highest bough, four or five on the branches of a fruit tree, declares the Lord God of Israel.
⁷ In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel.
⁸ They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands, and they will not have regard for what their fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense.
⁹ In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.
¹⁰ For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,
¹¹ In the day you plant, you fence it in; and in the morning you sow your seed, but the harvest will be a heap in a day of grief and incurable pain.
¹² Ah, the thunder of many peoples; they thunder like the thundering of the sea!
¹³ The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm.
¹⁴ In the evening, behold, terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us, and the lot of those who plunder us.

Amos 1:3-5: ³ Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron.
⁴ So I will send a fire upon the house of Hazael,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.
⁵ I will break the gate-bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven, and him who holds the scepter from Beth-eden; and the people of Syria shall go into exile to Kir,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 49:23-27: ²³ Concerning Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad are confounded, for they have heard bad news; they melt in fear, they are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.
²⁴ Damascus has become feeble, she turned to flee, and panic seized her; anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in labor.
²⁵ How the hammer of the whole earth is cut down and broken! How Babylon has become a horror among the nations!
²⁶ Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, declares the Lord of hosts.
²⁷ And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.

Ezekiel 27:16-18: ¹⁶ Syria did business with you because of the abundance of your goods; they exchanged for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and ruby.
¹⁷ Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged for your merchandise wheat, olives, honey, and oil.
¹⁸ Damascus was your merchant in the multitude of the goods of your making, for the abundance of all wealth, in wine of Helbon and wool of Sahar.

Acts 9:1-19: ¹ But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest
² and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
³ Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.
⁴ And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
⁵ And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
⁶ But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
⁷ The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.
⁸ Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.
⁹ And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
¹⁰ Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”
¹¹ And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying,
¹² and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”
¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.
¹⁴ And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”
¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.
¹⁶ For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.
¹⁷ So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying 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.”
¹⁸ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized.
¹⁹ and taking food, he was strengthened.

Acts 15:22-35: ²² Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers,
²³ They sent this letter by them: “The apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.
²⁴ Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions,
²⁵ it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
²⁶ men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
²⁷ We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word.
²⁸ For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements:
²⁹ that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”
³⁰ So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter.
³¹ And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.
³² And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words.
³³ And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them.
³⁴ But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.
³⁵ But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

Acts 22:6-16: ⁶ “As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me.
⁷ And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
⁸ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’
⁹ Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
¹⁰ And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’
¹¹ And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.
And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,
And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.
And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth;
¹⁵ For you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.
And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.