Isaiah 20

Translated from the Hebrew of the Westminster Leningrad Codex. Tap a verse to see why it reads as it does. Tap a small letter to read its footnote.

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Naked and barefoot as a sign

¹In the year that the commander-in-chief came to Ashdod, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, and fought against Ashdod and captured it, ²at that time the LORD spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz: “Go, untie the sackcloth from around your waist, and pull the sandals off your feet.” He did as he was told, walking about naked and barefoot.

³Then the LORD said, “My servant Isaiah has walked about naked and barefoot for three years, a sign and a forewarning against Egypt and Cush. ⁴In the same way the king of Assyria will drive off Egypt’s captives and Cush’s exiles, young and old, naked and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered, the disgrace of Egypt. ⁵Then they will be shattered and disgraced, because Cush was their hope and Egypt their pride. ⁶On that day those who live along this coast will say, ‘Look at the fate of the ones we put our hope in, the ones we ran to for help, to save us from the king of Assyria! So how are we to escape?’”