1In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;
2At 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.
3And 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;
4So 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.
5And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
6And 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?
Understand This
Isaiah 20, explained
What Isaiah 20 is saying
God commands Isaiah to walk naked and barefoot for three years as a living sign that Assyria will lead Egypt and Cush into exile—stripped and humiliated. The message is clear: those who trust in these nations for protection will be dismayed and ashamed.
The background behind it
This prophetic sign-act was performed around the time of the Ashdod rebellion (711 BC), when Judah was tempted to join an Egyptian-backed revolt against Assyria. Sargon II's conquest of Ashdod proved Isaiah right.
Themes running underneath
Prophetic embodiment—the prophet becomes the message. The humiliation of trusting in unreliable allies is dramatized in Isaiah's own body.
Why it still matters
Trusting in impressive-looking powers that cannot deliver leads to the same exposure and shame. The sign-act forces viewers to consider where their real security lies.
Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.