God's declaration "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment" establishes the formulaic pattern that will structure the oracles against the nations, indicating that each nation has committed repeated transgressions that have exceeded the limit of divine tolerance. The numerical progression from three to four is idiomatic, suggesting an unspecified but definite number of transgressions beyond which God's patience is exhausted. The irrevocability of the punishment establishes that the judgment is certain and inevitable, not dependent on the possibility of repentance but flowing from the weight of accumulated sin.

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