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

1The Lord revealed the following message during the year in which King Sargon of Assyria sent his commanding general to Ashdod, and he fought against it and captured it. 2At that time the Lord announced through Isaiah son of Amoz: “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet.” He did as instructed and walked around in undergarments and barefoot. Later the Lord explained, “In the same way that my servant Isaiah has walked around in undergarments and barefoot for the past three years, as an object lesson and omen pertaining to Egypt and Cush, 4so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, both young and old. They will be in undergarments and barefoot, with the buttocks exposed; the Egyptians will be publicly humiliated. 5Those who put their hope in Cush and took pride in Egypt will be afraid and embarrassed.

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 you have investigated this land, forty days – one day for a year – you will suffer for your iniquities, forty years, and you will know what it means to thwart me.
• Ezekiel 4:5I have determined that the number of the years of their iniquity are to be the number of days for you – 390 days. So bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
• Revelation 11:2But do not measure the outer courtyard of the temple; leave it out, because it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will trample on the holy city for forty-two months.
• Isaiah 8:18Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me are reminders and object lessons in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion.
• Isaiah 18:1The land of buzzing wings is as good as dead, the one 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