Amplified Bible
Isaiah 20:3
3And the Lord said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has walked stripped and barefoot for three years as a sign and forewarning concerning Egypt and Cush (Ethiopia),
Isaiah 20:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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;
- New International Version (NIV)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,
- English Standard Version (ESV)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,
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then the Lord said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia,
Context of Isaiah 20:3
1In the year that the Tartan [the Assyrian commander in chief] came to Ashdod [in Philistia], when Sargon king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it, 2at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, untie the sackcloth from your hips and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, walking around stripped [to his loincloth] and barefoot. And the Lord said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has walked stripped and barefoot for three years as a sign and forewarning concerning Egypt and Cush (Ethiopia), 4in the same way the king of Assyria will lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, young and old, stripped and barefoot, even with buttocks uncovered—to the shame of Egypt. 5Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast.
Read all of Isaiah 20Isaiah 20:3 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוָ֔ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר הָלַ֛ךְ עַבְדִּ֥י יְשַׁעְיָ֖הוּ עָר֣וֹם וְיָחֵ֑ף שָׁלֹ֤שׁ שָׁנִים֙ א֣וֹת וּמוֹפֵ֔ת עַל־מִצְרַ֖יִם וְעַל־כּֽוּשׁ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Like as my servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
- Isaiahיְשַׁעְיָ֫הוּyesha‛yâh yesha‛yâhû · IsaiahH3470
- hath walkedהָלַךְhâlak · to go: walkH1980
- nakedעָרוֹם‛ârôm ‛ârôm · nakedH6174
- and barefootיָחֵףyâchêph · barefootH3182
- threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
- yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
- a signאוֹת'ôth · sign: indicatorH226
- and wonderמוֹפֵתmôphêth môphêth · wonderH4159
- upon Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
- and upon Ethiopiaכּוּשׁkûsh · CushH3568
Cross-references for Isaiah 20:3
- Numbers 14:34According to the number of days in which you spied out the land [of Canaan], forty days, for each day, you shall bear and suffer a year for your sins and guilt, for forty years, and you shall know My displeasure [the revoking of My promise and My estrangement because of your sin].
- Ezekiel 4:5For I have assigned you the years of their wickedness and punishment, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days [representing three hundred and ninety years]; in this way you shall bear [symbolically] the wickedness and punishment of the house of Israel.
- Revelation 11:2But leave out the court [of the Gentiles] which is outside the temple and do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles (the nations); and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months (three and one-half years).
- Isaiah 8:18Listen carefully, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for signs and wonders [that will occur] in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
- Isaiah 18:1Woe (judgment is coming) to the land of whirring wings Which is beyond the rivers of Cush (Ethiopia),
Commentaries on Isaiah 20:3
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Like as - That is, as Isaiah has gone stripped of his special garment as a prophet, so shall the Egyptians and Ethiopians be stripped of all that they value, and be carried captive into Assyria.‘ Hath walked three years - A great deal of difficulty has been felt in the interpretation of this place, from the strong improbability that Isaiah should have gone in this manner for a space of time so long as our translation expresses. The Septuagint renders…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4This symbolic event happened about three years before Ashdod fell (see Isaiah 20:2). Through this event, Isaiah served as an example for the people (see Isaiah 8:18).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. three years--Isaiah's symbolical action did not continue all this time, but at intervals, to keep it before the people's mind during that period [Rosenmuller]. Rather, join "three years" with "sign," a three years' sign, that is, a sign that a three years' calamity would come on Egypt and Ethiopia [Barnes], (Is 8:18). This is the only instance of a strictly symbolical act performed by Isaiah. With later prophets, as Jeremiah and Ezekiel, such acts were…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 20:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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