Isaiah 20
Expanded Bible
Assyria Will Defeat Egypt and Cush
20 [L In the year that; C about 712 bc] Sargon king of Assyria sent ·a military commander [or his commander-in-chief] to Ashdod [C a Philistine city] to attack that city. So the commander attacked and captured it. 2 ·Then [L At that time] the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Take the ·rough cloth [burlap; sackcloth; C a sign of mourning] off your body, and take your sandals off your feet.” So Isaiah obeyed and walked around ·naked [stripped] and barefoot.
3 Then the Lord said, “[L Just as] Isaiah my servant has walked around naked and barefoot for three years as a ·sign [L sign and omen/portent] against Egypt and Cush [18:1]. 4 [L So; Thus] The king of Assyria will carry away prisoners from Egypt and ·captives [exiles] from Cush. Old people and young people will be led away ·naked [stripped] and barefoot, with their buttocks bare. So the Egyptians will be shamed. 5 People who ·looked to Cush for help [trusted/put hope in Cush] will be ·afraid [dismayed; disillusioned], and those who ·were amazed by [boasted/took pride in] Egypt’s glory will be shamed. 6 People who live ·near the sea [in this coastland] will say, ‘Look at what happened to those ·we trusted in for help [in whom we hoped]. We ·ran [fled] to them so they would ·save [rescue] us from the king of Assyria. So how will we be able to escape?’”
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Isaiah 20
Amplified Bible
Prophecy about Egypt and Cush (Ancient Ethiopia)
20 In the year that the Tartan [the Assyrian commander in chief] came to Ashdod [in Philistia], when Sargon king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it, 2 at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, untie the [a]sackcloth from your hips and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, walking around [b]stripped [to his loincloth] and barefoot.(A) 3 And the Lord said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has walked [c]stripped and barefoot for three years as a sign and forewarning concerning Egypt and Cush (Ethiopia), 4 in the same way the king of Assyria will lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, young and old, stripped and barefoot, even with buttocks uncovered—to the [d]shame of Egypt. 5 Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast. 6 So the inhabitants of this coastland [the Israelites and their neighbors] will say in that day, ‘Look what has happened to those in whom we hoped and trusted and to whom we fled for help to be spared from the king of Assyria! But we, how will we escape [captivity and exile]?’”
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- Isaiah 20:2 A coarse cloth usually made of goat hair or camel hair and worn as a sign of mourning, or worn by prophets.
- Isaiah 20:2 Or naked. The Hebrew can refer to someone completely naked, or only stripped to the underwear (i.e. a loincloth); see note v 4. The ancient rabbis were particularly sensitive to the issue, and some maintained (contrary to the text) that Isaiah was wearing worn-out clothes and patched shoes or sandals.
- Isaiah 20:3 Stripping off the outer garments was an act symbolizing disgrace and humiliation.
- Isaiah 20:4 Lit nakedness. As noted for v 2, the Hebrew can refer to complete nakedness or to being stripped to the underwear. A loincloth might leave the buttocks exposed to a greater or lesser extent.
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