Isaiah 20:3

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

1Before the year that the chief commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it, 2the LORD had already spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and the sandals from your feet.” And Isaiah did so, walking around naked and barefoot. Then the LORD said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and omen against Egypt and Cush, 4so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, naked and barefoot, with bared buttocks—to Egypt’s shame. 5Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed.

Isaiah 20:3 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוָ֔ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר הָלַ֛ךְ עַבְדִּ֥י יְשַׁעְיָ֖הוּ עָר֣וֹם וְיָחֵ֑ף שָׁלֹ֤שׁ שָׁנִים֙ א֣וֹת וּמוֹפֵ֔ת עַל־מִצְרַ֖יִם וְעַל־כּֽוּשׁ׃Read the interlinear

• Then the LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Just asכַּאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · as whichH834
• My servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• Isaiahיְשַׁעְיָ֫הוּyesha‛yâh yesha‛yâhû · IsaiahH3470
• has goneהָלַךְhâlak · to go: walkH1980
• nakedעָרוֹם‛ârôm ‛ârôm · nakedH6174
• and barefootיָחֵףyâchêph · barefootH3182
• for threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
• as a signאוֹת'ôth · sign: indicatorH226
• and omenמוֹפֵתmôphêth môphêth · wonderH4159
• againstעַל‛al · uponH5921
• Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
• and Cushכּוּשׁkûsh · CushH3568

Cross-references for Isaiah 20:3

• Numbers 14:34In keeping with the forty days you spied out the land, you shall bear your guilt forty years—a year for each day—and you will experience My alienation.
• Ezekiel 4:5For I have assigned to you 390 days, according to the number of years of their iniquity. So you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
• Revelation 11:2But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Do not measure it, because it has been given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months.
• Isaiah 8:18Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me as signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
• Isaiah 18:1Woe to the land of whirring wings, along the rivers of Cush,

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

• Egypt
• Ethiopia
• Instruction
• Isaiah
• Minister, Christian
• Pantomime
• Symbols and Similitudes

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• Ethiopia
• Isaiah
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Ethiopia, Ethiopian
• Barefoot
• Captive
• No
• Ezekiel
• Foot

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