The Conquest of Egypt and Cush
20 In the year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to Ashdod, attacked it, and captured it— 2 at that time the Lord spoke through Amoz’s son Isaiah: “Go loosen the sackcloth that’s around your waist,[a] and take your sandals[b] off your feet.” So that’s what he did: he went around naked and barefoot.
3 Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has walked around naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a warning for Egypt and Ethiopia,[c] 4 so the king of Assyria will lead away the Egyptian captives and exiles from Cush,[d] both the young and the old, naked and barefoot—with even their buttocks uncovered—to the shame[e] of Egypt. 5 Then they will be dismayed and put to shame because of Cush,[f] their hope, and Egypt, their jewel.[g] 6 At that time, the inhabitants of this coastland will say, ‘See, this is what has happened to those on whom we counted and relied[h] for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How, then, can we escape?’”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 20:2 Lit. your hips and lower back
- Isaiah 20:2 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads sandal
- Isaiah 20:3 I.e. Nubia, south of Egypt (modern northern Sudan)
- Isaiah 20:4 I.e. Nubia, south of Egypt (modern northern Sudan)
- Isaiah 20:4 Or nakedness
- Isaiah 20:5 I.e. Nubia, south of Egypt (modern northern Sudan)
- Isaiah 20:5 Or pride
- Isaiah 20:6 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read and to whom we fled