3 Thus says the LORD, "For three transgressions of Damascus and for four (multiplied delinquencies) I shall not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it, Because they have threshed Gilead [east of the Jordan River] with sharp iron sledges [having spikes that crushed and shredded].

4 "So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon the house of[3] Hazael, And it shall devour the palaces and strongholds of[4] Ben-hadad (Hazael's son).

5 "I also will break the bar [of the gate] of Damascus, And cut off and destroy the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven (Wickedness), And the ruler who holds the scepter, from Beth-eden (Damascus); And the people of Aram [conquered by the Assyrians] will go into exile to[5] Kir," Says the LORD.