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,
• 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,
• New Living Translation (NLT)Then the Lord said, “My servant Isaiah has been walking around naked and barefoot for the last three years. This is a sign—a symbol of the terrible troubles I will bring upon Egypt and Ethiopia.

Context of Isaiah 20:3

1In the year that the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and captured it— 2at that time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet," and he did so, walking naked and barefoot. 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, 4so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt. 5Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast.

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

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 the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.'
• Ezekiel 4:5For I assign to you a number of days, 390 days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment. So long shall you bear the punishment of the house of Israel.
• Revelation 11:2but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.
• Isaiah 8:18Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
• Isaiah 18:1Ah, land of whirring wings that is beyond 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