Isaiah 20

Chapter context

What is happening in Isaiah 20?

holinessjudgmentremnantmessiah

Isaiah 20 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as narratives around Assyria and Hezekiah. Isaiah is one of Scripture’s grandest prophetic books, moving from holy judgment to consolation, servant imagery, and new-creation hope. Read this chapter with the wider themes of holiness, judgment, and remnant in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.

¹ In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it; ² 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. ³ 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; ⁴ 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. ⁵ And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. ⁶ 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?

Study helps

Glossary

Ashdod Place v. 1: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tel Ashdod.
Assyria Place v. 1, 4, 6: Biblical region. Modern identification: Nineveh.
Amoz Person v. 2: Strong, the father of the prophet Isaiah ( 2 Kings 19:2 , 20; 20:1; Isa. 1:1 ; 2:1 ). As to his personal history little is positively known. He is supposed by some to have been the “man of God” spoken of in 2 Chr. 25:7 , 8.
Isaiah Person v. 2-3: (Heb. Yesh’yahu, i. e., “the salvation of Jehovah”). (1. ) The son of Amoz ( Isa. 1:1 ; 2:1 ), who was apparently a man of humble rank.
Sackcloth People v. 2: Cloth made of black goats’ hair, coarse, rough, and thick, used for sacks, and also worn by mourners ( Gen. 37:34 ; 42:25 ; 2 Sam. 3:31 ; Esther 4:1 , 2; Ps. 30:11 , etc. ), and as a sign of repentance ( Matt. 11:21 ).
Cush Place v. 3-5: Country of burnt faces; the Greek word by which the Hebrew Cush is rendered. Modern identification: Meroe.
Egypt Place v. 3-6: The land of the Nile and the pyramids, the oldest kingdom of which we have any record, holds a place of great significance in Scripture. Modern identification: Ain Shams.