During the night Abram separated his men into groups. They attacked their enemies and drove them away. They chased them north of Damascus as far as Hobah.
But Abram said, “Lord and King, what can you give me? I still don’t have any children. My servant Eliezer comes from Damascus. When I die, he will get everything I own.”
Asa took all the silver and gold left among the treasures of the Lord’s temple and his own palace. He put his officials in charge of it. He sent the officials to Ben-Hadad. Ben-Hadad was king of Aram. He was ruling in Damascus. He was the son of Tabrimmon and the grandson of Hezion.
Here is a prophecy against Damascus that the Lord gave me. He said, “Damascus will not be a city anymore. Instead, all its buildings will be knocked down.
The capital of Aram is Damascus. And the ruler of Damascus is only Rezin. Do not worry about the people of Ephraim. They will be too crushed to be considered a people. That will happen before 65 years are over.
Here is what the Lord says about Damascus. He says, “The people of Hamath and Arpad are terrified. They have heard bad news. They have lost all hope. They are troubled like the rolling sea.
“ ‘ “Damascus did business with you. That’s because you had so many products and so much wealth. They traded to you wine from Helbon and wool from Zahar.
He asked the priest for letters to the synagogues in Damascus. He wanted to find men and women who belonged to the Way of Jesus. The letters would allow him to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
Have you made a loan to one of your own people? Then forgive what is owed to you. You can’t require that person to pay you back. The Lord’s time to forgive what is owed has been announced.
Gideon separated the 300 men into three fighting groups. He put a trumpet and an empty jar into the hands of each man. And he put a torch inside each jar.