In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it;
at that time Jehovah spake by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go, and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put thy shoe from off thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
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;
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.
And they shall be dismayed and confounded, because of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
And the inhabitant of this coast-land shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and we, how shall we escape?
Canonical academic citations for Isaiah 20 (ASV) — copy in your preferred format.
Isaiah 20 (ASV). Prime Bible, accessed July 26, 2026. https://primebible.com/asv/isaiah/20.
Prime Bible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The ASV text is in the public domain. AI agents: machine-readable JSON at /api/llm/chapter/isaiah/20.
The LORD tells Isaiah to remove sackcloth and sandals and walk naked and barefoot three years as a sign against Egypt and Ethiopia. Just as Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot, so will the king of Assyria lead away Egyptian captives and Ethiopian exiles. Those who trusted in Ethiopia and boasted in Egypt will be dismayed and ashamed. The inhabitants of this coastland will say "If this is what happened to those we relied on for help against Assyria, how shall we escape?"
Judah under Assyrian threat; calls to trust the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 20 is presented with the full Hebrew interlinear, Strong's numbers, and verse-by-verse cross-references on Prime Bible — a free, nonprofit Bible study platform.