Bible Strands
Amos 1:5
I will break down the gates of Damascus; I will cut off the ruler from the Valley of Aven and the one who wields the scepter in Beth-eden. The people of Aram will be exiled to Kir,” says the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD declares judgment through Amos against Damascus, immediately following the oracle on Aram in the preceding verse.
The words — שָֽבַרְתִּי (sha.var.Ti) means "I will break," and יוֹשֵׁב (yo.Shev) translates to "inhabitant[s]," specifying the destruction of the city's defenses and the removal of its residents.
The thread — The exile to Kir appears as historical fulfillment in 2 Kings 16:9, while the motif of displaced populations and sovereign judgment runs through Amos 9:7 and Jeremiah 51:30.
Why it lands — The text states that God will dismantle Damascus's gates, remove its leaders, and exile its people to Kir. The reader must acknowledge that national history operates under divine decree and that prophetic pronouncements produce concrete geopolitical outcomes.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 16:9 So the king of Assyria responded to him, marched up to Damascus, and captured it. He took its people to Kir as captives and put Rezin to death.
- Amos 9:7 “Are you not like the Cushites to Me, O children of Israel?” declares the LORD. “Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Arameans from Kir?
- Jeremiah 51:30 The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting; they sit in their strongholds. Their strength is exhausted; they have become like women. Babylon’s homes have been set ablaze, the bars of her gates are broken.
- Isaiah 43:14 Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “For your sake, I will send to Babylon and bring them all as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.
- Lamentations 2:9 Her gates have sunk into the ground; He has destroyed and shattered their bars. Her king and her princes are exiled among the nations, the law is no more, and even her prophets find no vision from the LORD.
- Jeremiah 50:36 A sword is against her false prophets, and they will become fools. A sword is against her warriors, and they will be filled with terror.
- Nahum 3:13 Look at your troops—they are like your women! The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire consumes their bars.