“Therefore thus says Yahweh God.

‘It shall not stand.

It shall not come to pass.

The head of Syria is Damascus.

The head of Damascus is King Rezin.

Within sixty-five years,

Ephraim will be shattered.

They will no longer be a people.

The head of Ephraim is Samaria.

The head of Samaria is

The son of Remaliah.

If you do not stand firm in faith,

You shall not stand at all.’”

Yahweh then proclaimed that the 2 invaders from the north would not be successful since they would be wiped out. The capital of Syria was in Damascus where King Rezin (792-732 BCE) ruled. The capital of the northern Israelite kingdom of Ephraim was at Samaria, where the son of Remaliah, King Pekah was in charge. Within 65 years, Ephraim would be wiped out. Syria was also going to fall. All that King Ahaz had to do was to remain strong in his faith. If he did not, he too would fall.