Isaiah 20
GOD’S WORD Translation
Those Who Were Allied with Egypt Will Be Ashamed
20 In the year when King Sargon of Assyria sent his commander-in-chief to fight against Ashdod, he captured it. 2 At that time the Lord told Isaiah, son of Amoz, “Take off the sackcloth that you are wearing, and take off your sandals!” Isaiah did this and walked around barefoot and naked.
3 Then the Lord said, “My servant Isaiah has gone barefoot and naked for three years as a sign and as an omen to Egypt and Sudan. 4 The king of Assyria will lead away both the young and the old—captives from Egypt and exiles from Sudan. They will be barefoot and naked. Their buttocks will be exposed in order to disgrace Egypt. 5 Then the people will be shattered and ashamed because Sudan was their hope and Egypt was their beauty. 6 When that day comes, those who live on this coastland will say, ‘Look at what has happened to our hope. We ran ⌞to Egypt⌟ for help to be rescued from the king of Assyria. How can we escape?’ ”
Isaiah 20
New King James Version
The Sign Against Egypt and Ethiopia
20 In the year that (A)Tartan[a] came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it, 2 at the same time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and remove (B)the sackcloth from your [b]body, and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, (C)walking naked and barefoot.
3 Then the Lord said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years (D)for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, 4 so shall the (E)king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, (F)with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 (G)Then they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and Egypt their glory. 6 And the inhabitant of this territory will say in that day, ‘Surely such is our expectation, wherever we flee for (H)help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?’ ”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 20:1 Or the Commander in Chief
- Isaiah 20:2 Lit. loins
Isaiah 20
English Standard Version
A Sign Against Egypt and Cush
20 In the year that (A)the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to (B)Ashdod and fought against it and captured it— 2 at that time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet,” and he did so, walking (C)naked and barefoot.
3 Then the Lord said, “As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years (D)as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush,[a] 4 so shall the (E)king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt. 5 (F)Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. 6 And the inhabitants of (G)this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and (H)to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 20:3 Probably Nubia
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
