“‘See!
Damascus will cease to be a city.
It will become a heap of ruins.
Her towns will be deserted forever.
They will be places for flocks.
These animals will lie down.
No one will make them afraid.
The fortress will disappear
From Ephraim.
The kingdom will disappear
From Damascus.
The remnant of Syria
Will be
Like the glory
Of the children of Israel.’
Thus says Yahweh of hosts.”
This is another oracle of Yahweh, via Isaiah. Damascus will cease to be a city, plain and simple, as it will become a heap of ruins deserted forever. This did not happen. Damascus would become a place for grazing animals to lay down where no one would bother them. Then we have an implied reprimand for the northern Israelites, as Yahweh says that Ephraim, with the capital city of Samaria, would lose its fortress. The northern Israelites were aligned with Syria or Aram against Judah. The Aramean kingdom would disappear from Damascus, which did happen. The remnant of Syria would give glory to the children of Israel. Thus we have this divine diatribe against Damascus in Syria.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 