New King James Version
Isaiah 20:3
3Then 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,
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 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 Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it, 2at the same time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. 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, 4so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5Then they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and Egypt their glory.
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 the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection.
- Ezekiel 4:5For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
- Revelation 11:2But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.
- Isaiah 8:18Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel From the Lord of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion.
- Isaiah 18:1Woe to the land shadowed with buzzing wings, Which is beyond the rivers of 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries