Isaiah 20

Isaiah walks barefoot

n the year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it— 2at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped and barefoot. 3Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush, 4so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt’s shame.

5Those who trusted in Cush and boasted in Egypt will be dismayed and put to shame. 6In that day the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened to those we relied on, those we fled to for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?’”

Commentary
Isaiah 20 is a brief but startling chapter in which the prophet Isaiah walks barefoot and naked for three years as a living sign against Egypt and Cush. The chapter opens with a historical note about Ashdod's fall to Assyria, then records God's command for Isaiah to perform this hum
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Bible Dictionary· Isaiah 20(5)

Bible Characters· Isaiah 20(2)

New International Version (NIV) © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.

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