Isaiah 20:3
in Isaiah 20Then the LORD said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and omen against Egypt and Cush,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder concerning Egypt and concerning Ethiopia;
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;
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This verse in Isaiah 20
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAnd the Lord said. Here the signification of the aforementioned deed is set out. And first, as to the time for which the persecution lasted: three years, signified by the three days in which he went naked: a day for a year I have appointed …
This site's exposition
came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it
on Isaiah 20:1-3
The chapter is dated to the year "the chief commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod". The LORD tells Isaiah to "remove the sackcloth", and he goes "naked and barefoot". Clarke and Barnes take naked as stripped of the outer garment, the dress of a captive.
This site's exposition
as a sign and omen against Egypt and Cush
The three years belong to the sign itself, a sign of three years of disaster coming on Egypt and Cush. It is the only strictly symbolic act Isaiah performed. Henry takes the title servant as the LORD honouring an obedience others mocked.
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
Three years - Not constantly, but when he went abroad among the people, to whom this was appointed for a sign. A sign - When this judgment should come, namely, three years after this prophecy.
And the Lord said,....
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)
Like 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.
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)
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], (Isa 8:18). This is the only instance of a strictly symbolical act performed by Isaiah.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
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..
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
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הָלַ֛ךְ | halakh | he has gone | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| עַבְדִּ֥י | ʾavdi | servant my | H5650 → | 799 times |
| יְשַׁעְיָ֖הוּ | yesha'yahu | Isaiah | H3470 → | 39 times |
| עָר֣וֹם | arom | naked | H6174 → | 16 times |
| וְיָחֵ֑ף | veyachef | and barefoot | H3182 → | 5 times |
| שָׁלֹ֤שׁ | shalosh | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| שָׁנִים֙ | shanim | years | H8141 → | 877 times |
| א֣וֹת | ʾot | a sign | H226 → | 80 times |
| וּמוֹפֵ֔ת | umofet | and a portent | H4159 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִצְרַ֖יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כּֽוּשׁ׃ | kush | Cush | H3568 → | 29 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
הָלַ֛ךְhe has gone
halakhH1980 →1546 times
עַבְדִּ֥יservant my
ʾavdiH5650 →799 times
יְשַׁעְיָ֖הוּIsaiah
yesha'yahuH3470 →39 times
עָר֣וֹםnaked
aromH6174 →16 times
וְיָחֵ֑ףand barefoot
veyachefH3182 →5 times
שָׁלֹ֤שׁthree
shaloshH7969 →432 times
שָׁנִים֙years
shanimH8141 →877 times
א֣וֹתa sign
ʾotH226 →80 times
וּמוֹפֵ֔תand a portent
umofetH4159 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
כּֽוּשׁ׃Cush
kushH3568 →29 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
Isaiah 8:18Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me as signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
it leads to
- Hebrews 2:13–14
And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And once again: “Here am I, and the children God has given Me.”
- Luke 2:34
Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken…
- Hebrews 2:13–14
Through
Isaiah 43:3For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.
it leads to
- Isaiah 60:16
You will drink the milk of nations and nurse at the breasts of royalty; you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
- Isaiah 45:15
Truly You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.
- Isaiah 49:26
I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your…
- 2 Chronicles 14:9–14
Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots, and they advanced as far as Mareshah.
- Exodus 20:2
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Isaiah 60:16
Through
Numbers 14:34In keeping with the forty days you spied out the land, you shall bear your guilt forty years—a year for each day—and you will experience My alienation.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 4:6
When you have completed these days, lie down again, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah. I have assigned to you 40 days, a day for each…
- Ezekiel 4:6
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.
- PersonLate 8th century BCE / Divided KingdomIsaiahEighth-century BCE prophet of Judah whose oracles make up the book of Isaiah; a central voice for messianic prophecy.
- 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…
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; 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 (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.