799 B
799 B
the gods of Damascus
The Syrians believed Damascus to be the city where their gods dwelt, much like Yahweh dwelt in Jerusalem. AT: "the gods whom the Syrians worshiped in Damascus" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit)
gods that had defeated him
This expresses Ahaz's opinion. Because the Syrians had defeated him and his army, Ahaz attributed his defeat to the gods whom the Syrians worshiped. AT: "gods whom he believed had enabled the Syrian army to defeat him" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit)
they were the ruin of him and of all Israel
The word "ruin" can be translated with a verb. AT: "those gods ruined him and all Israel" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns)
all Israel
Here "Israel" represents the southern kingdom of Judah.