Isaiah 20:4

4 For the king of Assyria will take away the Egyptians and Ethiopians as prisoners. He will make them walk naked and barefoot, both young and old, their buttocks bared, to the shame of Egypt.

Isaiah 20:4 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 20:4

So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians
prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives
As beasts are led or driven, being taken prisoners, and carried captive by the king of Assyria, namely Sargon, whoever is intended by him:

young and old;
without any regard to age, sparing none for their tender years or gray hairs:

naked and barefoot;
as prisoners of war commonly are, being stripped by their conquerors of their clothes, and having only a few rags given them to cover their nakedness with, and obliged to travel without shoes on their feet:

even with [their] buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt;
having no clothes on them to cover those parts; or the skirts of their garments cut off, as David's servants were by the Ammonites, ( 2 Samuel 10:4 ) and this to humble and mortify the pride of the Egyptians.

Isaiah 20:4 In-Context

2 the LORD told Isaiah son of Amoz, “Take off the burlap you have been wearing, and remove your sandals.” Isaiah did as he was told and walked around naked and barefoot.

3 Then the LORD said, “My servant Isaiah has been walking around naked and barefoot for the last three years. This is a sign—a symbol of the terrible troubles I will bring upon Egypt and Ethiopia.

4 For the king of Assyria will take away the Egyptians and Ethiopians as prisoners. He will make them walk naked and barefoot, both young and old, their buttocks bared, to the shame of Egypt.

5 Then the Philistines will be thrown into panic, for they counted on the power of Ethiopia and boasted of their allies in Egypt!

6 They will say, ‘If this can happen to Egypt, what chance do we have? We were counting on Egypt to protect us from the king of Assyria.’”

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew Cushites.