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Isaiah 20
Lexham English Bible
Isaiah 20
Lexham English Bible
A Sign regarding Egypt and Cush
20 In the year the commander-in-chief came[a] to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and he took it, 2 at that time, Yahweh had spoken by the hand of Isaiah son of Amoz, saying,
“Go and loosen the sackcloth from your loins,
and take off your sandals[b] from your feet,”
and he had done so, walking naked and barefoot.
3 Then[c] Yahweh said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush, 4 so shall the king of Assyria lead the captives[d] of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot, with bared buttocks,[e] the shame of Egypt.
5 And they shall be dismayed,
and they shall be ashamed
because of Cush, their hope,
and because of Egypt, their pride.
6 And the inhabitant[f] of the coastland will say this on that day:
‘Look! This is our hope to whom we fled for help, to be delivered from[g] the king of Assyria, and how shall we escape?’”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 20:1 Literally “of the coming of the commander in chief”
- Isaiah 20:2 Hebrew “sandal”
- Isaiah 20:3 Or “And”
- Isaiah 20:4 Hebrew “captive”
- Isaiah 20:4 Literally “and bare of buttocks”
- Isaiah 20:6 Hebrew “inhabitant”
- Isaiah 20:6 Literally “from the face of”
Isaiah 20
New International Version
Isaiah 20
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Egypt and Cush
20 In the year that the supreme commander,(A) sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod(B) and attacked and captured it— 2 at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz.(C) He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth(D) from your body and the sandals(E) from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped(F) and barefoot.(G)
3 Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant(H) Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years,(I) as a sign(J) and portent(K) against Egypt(L) and Cush,[a](M) 4 so the king(N) of Assyria will lead away stripped(O) and barefoot the Egyptian captives(P) and Cushite(Q) exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared(R)—to Egypt’s shame.(S) 5 Those who trusted(T) in Cush(U) and boasted in Egypt(V) will be dismayed and put to shame.(W) 6 In that day(X) the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened(Y) to those we relied on,(Z) those we fled to for help(AA) and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?(AB)’”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 20:3 That is, the upper Nile region; also in verse 5
Isaiah 20
English Standard Version
Isaiah 20
English Standard Version
A Sign Against Egypt and Cush
20 In the year that (A)the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to (B)Ashdod and fought against it and captured it— 2 at 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 (C)naked and barefoot.
3 Then the Lord said, “As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years (D)as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush,[a] 4 so shall the (E)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. 5 (F)Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. 6 And the inhabitants of (G)this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and (H)to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 20:3 Probably Nubia
Lexham English Bible (LEB)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.