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Isaiah 20:1–6

The Sign Against Egypt and Ethiopia

20 In the year that aTartan 1came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it, at the same time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and remove bthe sackcloth from your 2body, and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, cwalking naked and barefoot.

Then the Lord said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years dfor a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, so shall the eking of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, fwith their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. gThen they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and Egypt their glory. And the inhabitant of this territory will say in that day, ‘Surely such is our expectation, wherever we flee for hhelp to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?’ ”

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Isaiah 20:1–6 — The New International Version (NIV)

In the year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it—at 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.

Then 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, so 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. Those who trusted in Cush and boasted in Egypt will be dismayed and put to shame. In 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?’ ”

Isaiah 20:1–6 — English Standard Version (ESV)

In the year that the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and captured it— 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 naked and barefoot.

Then the Lord said, “As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush, so shall the 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. Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. And the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’ ”

Isaiah 20:1–6 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it; At the same time spake the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying,

Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins,

And put off thy shoe from thy foot.

And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. 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;

So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives,

Young and old, naked and barefoot,

Even with their buttocks uncovered,

To the shame of Egypt.

And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation,

And of Egypt their glory.

And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day,

Behold, such is our expectation,

Whither we flee for help

To be delivered from the king of Assyria:

And how shall we escape?

Isaiah 20:1–6 — New Living Translation (NLT)

In the year when King Sargon of Assyria sent his commander in chief to capture the Philistine city of Ashdod, the Lord told Isaiah son of Amoz, “Take off the burlap you have been wearing, and remove your sandals.” Isaiah did as he was told and walked around naked and barefoot.

Then the Lord said, “My servant Isaiah has been walking around naked and barefoot for the last three years. This is a sign—a symbol of the terrible troubles I will bring upon Egypt and Ethiopia. For the king of Assyria will take away the Egyptians and Ethiopians as prisoners. He will make them walk naked and barefoot, both young and old, their buttocks bared, to the shame of Egypt. Then the Philistines will be thrown into panic, for they counted on the power of Ethiopia and boasted of their allies in Egypt! They will say, ‘If this can happen to Egypt, what chance do we have? We were counting on Egypt to protect us from the king of Assyria.’ ”

Isaiah 20:1–6 — New Century Version (NCV)

Sargon king of Assyria sent a military commander to Ashdod to attack that city. So the commander attacked and captured it. Then the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Take the rough cloth off your body, and take your sandals off your feet.” So Isaiah obeyed and walked around naked and barefoot.

Then the Lord said, “Isaiah my servant has walked around naked and barefoot for three years as a sign against Egypt and Cush. The king of Assyria will carry away prisoners from Egypt and Cush. Old people and young people will be led away naked and barefoot, with their buttocks bare. So the Egyptians will be shamed. People who looked to Cush for help will be afraid, and those who were amazed by Egypt’s glory will be shamed. People who live near the sea will say, ‘Look at those countries. We trusted them to help us. We ran to them so they would save us from the king of Assyria. So how will we be able to escape?’ ”

Isaiah 20:1–6 — American Standard Version (ASV)

In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it; at that time Jehovah spake by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go, and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put thy shoe from off thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. 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; so shall the king of Assyria lead away the captives of Egypt, and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. And they shall be dismayed and confounded, because of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. And the inhabitant of this coast-land shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and we, how shall we escape?

Isaiah 20:1–6 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, (and he fought against Ashdod and took it,) at that time spoke Jehovah by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy sandal from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. And Jehovah said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years, a sign and a wonder concerning Egypt and concerning Ethiopia, so shall the king of Assyria lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. And they shall be terrified and ashamed of Ethiopia their confidence, and of Egypt their boast. And the inhabitants of this coast shall say in that day, Behold, such is our confidence, whither we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?

Isaiah 20:1–6 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

In the year when King Sargon of Assyria sent his commander-in-chief to fight against Ashdod, he captured it. 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. 

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. 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. Then the people will be shattered and ashamed because Sudan was their hope and Egypt was their beauty. 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 20:1–6 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

In the year that the chief commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it— during that time the Lord had spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, take off your sackcloth and remove the sandals from your feet,” and he did so, going naked and barefoot — the Lord said, “As My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and omen against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, naked and barefoot, with bared buttocks—to Egypt’s shame. Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed. And the inhabitants of this coastland will say on that day, ‘Look, this is what has happened to those we relied on and fled to for help to rescue us from the king of Assyria! Now, how will we escape?’ ”

Isaiah 20:1–6 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

In the year that the commander-in-chief, who was sent by King Sargon of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and took it— at that time the Lord had spoken to Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loose the sackcloth from your loins and take your sandals off your feet,” and he had done so, walking naked and barefoot. Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Ethiopia, so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as captives and the Ethiopians as exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. And they shall be dismayed and confounded because of Ethiopia their hope and of Egypt their boast. In that day the inhabitants of this coastland will say, ‘See, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’ ”

Isaiah 20:1–6 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

In the year the commander-in-chief came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and he took it, at that time, Yahweh had spoken by the hand of Isaiah son of Amoz, saying,

“Go and loosen the sackcloth from your loins,

and take off your sandals from your feet,”

and he had done so, walking naked and barefoot.

Then Yahweh said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush, so shall the king of Assyria lead the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot, with bared buttocks, the shame of Egypt.

And they shall be dismayed,

and they shall be ashamed

because of Cush, their hope,

and because of Egypt, their pride.

And the inhabitant of the coastland will say this on that day:

‘Look! This is our hope to whom we fled for help, to be delivered from the king of Assyria, and how shall we escape?’ ”

Isaiah 20:1–6 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

Sargon sent his highest commander to the city of Ashdod. He attacked it and captured it. Sargon was king of Assyria. Three years earlier the Lord had spoken to me. He had said, “Take off the black clothes you are wearing. And take your sandals off.” So I did. I went around barefoot. I didn’t have anything on but my underwear.

After Ashdod was captured, the Lord said, “My servant Isaiah has gone around barefoot for three years. He has not worn anything but his underwear. He is a sign and reminder to Egypt and Cush about what will happen to them.

“The king of Assyria will lead prisoners away from Egypt and Cush. Young people and old people alike will be taken away. Like Isaiah, they will be barefoot. They will not be wearing anything but their underwear. And their backsides will be bare. So the Egyptians will be put to shame.

“People trusted in Cush to help them. They bragged about what Egypt could do for them. But they will be afraid and put to shame. At that time the people who live on the coast of Philistia will speak up. They will say, ‘See what has happened to those we depended on! We ran to them for help. We wanted them to save us from the king of Assyria. Now how can we escape?’ ”

Isaiah 20:1–6 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

In the year that the commander came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it,

at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go and loosen the sackcloth from your hips and take your shoes off your feet.” And he did so, going naked and barefoot.

And the Lord said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and token against Egypt and Cush,

so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.

“Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast.

“So the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, such is our hope, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and we, how shall we escape?’ ”


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