Isaiah 20:3

Verse

Then the LORD said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and omen against Egypt and Cush,

American Standard Version (1901)

And Jehovah said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder concerning Egypt and concerning Ethiopia;

Bible in Basic English

And the Lord said, As my servant Isaiah has gone unclothed and without shoes for three years as a sign and a wonder to Egypt and Ethiopia,

Free Bible Version

Then the Lord said, “In the same way that my servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a warning against Egypt and Ethiopia,

Geneva Bible 1599

And the Lord said, Like as my seruant Isaiah hath walked naked, and barefoote three yeeres, as a signe and wonder vpon Egypt, and Ethiopia,

King James (Authorized) Version

And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;

One Unity Resource Bible

Adonai said, “As my servant Isaiah [Salvation of Yah] has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder concerning Egypt [Abode of slavery] and concerning Ethiopia,

Translation for Translators

Then Yahweh said this to the people of Judah: “My servant Isaiah has been walking around naked and barefoot for the past three years. That is to show the terrible disasters that I will cause the people of Egypt and Ethiopia to experience.

Unlocked Literal Bible

Yahweh said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years, it is a sign and an omen concerning Egypt and concerning Cush—

Noah Webster Bible

And the LORD said, As my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Cush;

World English Bible

Yahweh said, “As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder concerning Egypt and concerning Ethiopia,

Young's Literal Translation

And Jehovah saith, 'As My servant Isaiah hath gone naked and barefoot three years, a sign and a wonder for Egypt and for Cush,

Context

A Sign against Egypt and Cush

²the LORD had already spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and the sandals from your feet.” And Isaiah did so, walking around naked and barefoot. ³Then the LORD said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and omen against Egypt and Cush,⁴so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, naked and barefoot, with bared buttocks—to Egypt’s shame.

Summary

In this verse, the prophet Isaiah is instructed by God to walk around naked and barefoot as a sign and a warning to Egypt and Cush of their impending captivity and shame. This symbolic act serves as a visual prophecy of the humiliation and defeat that these nations will face at the hands of the Assyrians. It demonstrates the seriousness of God's judgment against those who rebel against Him and the consequences of trusting in human alliances rather than in the Lord.

Commentary

Keil-Delitzsch
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

It is not till Isaiah has carried out the divine instructions, that he learns the reason for this command to strip himself, and the length of time that he is to continue so stripped. "And Jehovah said, As my servant Yesha'yahu goeth naked and barefooted, a sign and type for three years long over Egypt and over Ethiopia, so will the king of Asshur carry away the prisoners of Egypt and the exiles of Ethiopia, children and old men, naked and barefooted, and with their seat uncovered - a shame to Egypt." The expression "as he goeth" (ca'asher hâlac) stands here at the commencement of the symbolical action, but it is introduced as if with a retrospective glance at its duration for three years, unless indeed the preterite hâlac stands here, as it frequently does, to express what has already commenced, and is still continuing and customary (compare, for example, Job 1:4 and Psa 1:1). The strange and unseemly dress of the prophet, whenever he appeared in his official capacity for three whole years, was a prediction of the fall of the Egypto-Ethiopian kingdom, which was to take place at the end of these three years. Egypt and Ethiopia are as closely connected here as Israel and Judah in Isa 11:12. They were at that time one kingdom, so that the shame of Egypt was the shame of Ethiopia also. ‛Ervâh is a shameful nakedness, and ‛ervath Mitzrayim is in apposition to all that precedes it in Isa 20:4. Shēth is the seat or hinder part, as in Sa2 10:4, from shâthâh, to set or seat; it is a substantive form, like בּן, עץ, רע, שׁם, with the third radical letter dropt. Chashūphay has the same ay as the words in Isa 19:9; Jdg 5:15; Jer 22:14, which can hardly be regarded as constructive forms, as Ewald, Knobel, and Gesenius suppose (although ־י of the construct has arisen from ־י), but rather as a singular form with a collective signification. The emendations suggested, viz., chasūphē by Olshausen, and chasūphı̄ with a connecting i by Meier, are quite unnecessary.