“I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will consume the fortresses of Ben-hadad.”
Parallel translations
- WEB “I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben Hadad.”
- KJV And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.
- NKJV “Iwill kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, And it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.”
- NASB “I will set fire to the wall of Damascus, And it will devour the fortified palace of Ben-hadad.”
- NLT “And I will set fire to the walls of Damascus that will burn up the palaces of Ben-hadad.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God will set fire to the walls of Damascus and consume the palaces of its kings. The seat of Syrian power will be destroyed.
Overview
Ben Hadad was a dynastic name of Damascus's rulers, so its palaces represent the heart of Aramean royal power. The kindled fire is God's instrument of judgment. This closes the Damascus oracle, echoing Amos 1:4 and confirming that even the strongest kingdoms fall at the LORD's word.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Amos 1:3–5This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron.
- 1 Kgs 15:18–20So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace. He entrusted it to his servants and sent them with this message to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus:
- 2 Kgs 13:5So the LORD gave Israel a deliverer, and they escaped the power of the Arameans. Then the people of Israel lived in their own homes as they had before.
- Jer 43:12I will kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar will burn those temples and take their gods as captives. So he will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself in his garment, and he will depart from there unscathed.
- 2 Kgs 13:3So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them continually into the hands of Hazael king of Aram and his son Ben-hadad.
- 1 Kgs 20:1–22Now Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he marched up, besieged Samaria, and waged war against it.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 49:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.