Isaiah 20:4
in Isaiah 20so 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
so shall the king of Assyria lead away the captives of Egypt, and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
KJV
So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
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This verse in Isaiah 20
Commentary
8 notes on this verseSecond, as to the author of the destruction: so shall the king be led: in that day shall messengers go forth from my face in ships to destroy the confidence of Ethiopia (Ezek 30:9). Third, as to the condition of the destruction, into universality: young …
This site's exposition
with bared buttocks
on Isaiah 20:4-6
The three years become a forecast: "the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, naked and barefoot". Isaiah had already worn that shame. Verse 6 lands the sign on "the dwellers of this coastland", who had made "Cush their hope and Egypt their boast".
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 20, verses 1 and following) In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and took it, 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 naked and barefoot. And 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.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), because the Egyptians were a proud people, and therefore when they did fall into disgrace it was the more shameful to them; and the higher they had lifted up themselves the lower was their fall, both in their own eyes and in the eyes of others.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives,....
God calls him his servant Isaiah, because in this matter particularly he had approved himself God's willing, faithful, obedient servant; and for this very thing, which perhaps others laughed at him for, God gloried in him. To obey is better than sacrifice; it pleases God and praises him more, and shall be more praised by him.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
So shall the king of Assyria - The emphasis here is on the word “so.” As Isaiah has walked naked, that is, stripped off his usual clothing, “so” shall the Egyptians and Ethiopians be led away “stripped” of all their possessions. The Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives - The Egyptians and Ethiopians, or Cushites, were often united in an alliance, and appear to have been when this prophecy was delivered. Thus Nah 3:8: Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
buttocks uncovered--BELZONI says that captives are found represented thus on Egyptian monuments (Isa 47:2, 3; Na 3:5, 8, 9), where as here, Egypt and Ethiopia are mentioned as in alliance.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
three years shall he go in this manner as a sign and a symbol for Egypt and for Cush, that, at the end of three years the king of Assyria shall lead the captivity of Egypt..
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
shall be broken and ashamed All those who look in expectation upon the aid of Cush and boast of the support of Egypt.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֵּ֣ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| יִנְהַ֣ג | yinhag | he will lead away | H5090 → | 31 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַ֠שּׁוּר | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁבִ֨י | shevi | [the] captive[s] of | H7628 → | 49 times |
| מִצְרַ֜יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| גָּל֥וּת | galut | [the] exile[s] of | H1546 → | |
| כּ֛וּשׁ | kush | Cush | H3568 → | 29 times |
| נְעָרִ֥ים | nearim | young men | H5288 → | 239 times |
| וּזְקֵנִ֖ים | uzekenim | and old [men] | H2205 → | 178 times |
| עָר֣וֹם | arom | naked | H6174 → | 16 times |
| וְיָחֵ֑ף | veyachef | and barefoot | H3182 → | 5 times |
| וַחֲשׂוּפַ֥י | vachasufai | and [ones] uncovered of | H2834 → | 11 times |
| שֵׁ֖ת | shet | buttock | H8357 → | |
| עֶרְוַ֥ת | ʾervat | [the] nakedness of | H6172 → | |
| מִצְרָֽיִם׃ | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
כֵּ֣ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
יִנְהַ֣גhe will lead away
yinhagH5090 →31 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
אַ֠שּׁוּרAssyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שְׁבִ֨י[the] captive[s] of
sheviH7628 →49 times
מִצְרַ֜יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
גָּל֥וּת[the] exile[s] of
galutH1546 →
כּ֛וּשׁCush
kushH3568 →29 times
נְעָרִ֥יםyoung men
nearimH5288 →239 times
וּזְקֵנִ֖יםand old [men]
uzekenimH2205 →178 times
עָר֣וֹםnaked
aromH6174 →16 times
וְיָחֵ֑ףand barefoot
veyachefH3182 →5 times
וַחֲשׂוּפַ֥יand [ones] uncovered of
vachasufaiH2834 →11 times
שֵׁ֖תbuttock
shetH8357 →
עֶרְוַ֥ת[the] nakedness of
ʾervatH6172 →
מִצְרָֽיִם׃Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 13:26So I will pull your skirts up over your face, that your shame may be seen.
it leads to
- Hosea 2:10
And then I will expose her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one will deliver her out of My hands.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 23:29
They will treat you with hatred, take all for which you have worked, and leave you naked and bare, so that the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your indecency and promiscuity
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 16:37
therefore I will surely gather all the lovers with whom you found pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose you…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Lamentations 1:8
Jerusalem has sinned greatly; therefore she has become an object of scorn. All who honored her now despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns away.
- Hosea 2:10
Through
Jeremiah 13:22And if you ask yourself, “Why has this happened to me?” It is because of the magnitude of your iniquity that your skirts have been stripped off and your body has been exposed.
it leads to
- Nahum 3:5
“Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms.
- Jeremiah 16:10–11
When you tell these people all these things, they will ask you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great disaster against us? What is our guilt? What is the sin that we have…
- Nahum 3:5
Through
Isaiah 19:4I will deliver the Egyptians into the hands of harsh masters, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 29:19
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This…
- Jeremiah 46:26
I will deliver them into the hands of those who seek their lives—of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. But after this, Egypt will be inhabited as in days of old, declares the…
- Ezekiel 29:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceThe NileEgyptThe land where Joseph rose, where Israel grew into a nation in bondage, where the Passover lamb was slain and the sea opened, and…
- PlaceUpper MesopotamiaAssyriaMesopotamian empire whose capital Nineveh repented at Jonah's preaching and fell to Nahum's burden in 612 BC; the rod of God's ang…
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.