Isaiah 20:4

4 so the king of Assyrians shall drive the captivity of Egypt, and the passing over of Ethiopia, a young man and an eld man, naked and unshod, with the buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. (so now the king of Assyria shall lead away the captives of Egypt, and the prisoners of Ethiopia, a young man and an old man, naked and without shoes, with their buttocks uncovered, 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 in that time the Lord spake in the hand of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, and said (at that time the Lord spoke to Isaiah, the son of Amoz, and said), Go thou, and unbind the sackcloth from thy loins, and take away thy shoes from thy feet. And he did so, going naked and unshod.
3 And the Lord said, As my servant Isaiah went naked and unshod, a sign and great wonder of three years shall be on Egypt, and on Ethiopia; (And the Lord said, My servant Isaiah went naked and without shoes for three years, as a sign and a great wonder to Egypt, and to Ethiopia;)
4 so the king of Assyrians shall drive the captivity of Egypt, and the passing over of Ethiopia, a young man and an eld man, naked and unshod, with the buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. (so now the king of Assyria shall lead away the captives of Egypt, and the prisoners of Ethiopia, a young man and an old man, naked and without shoes, with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.)
5 And they shall dread (And they all shall fear), and shall be ashamed of Ethiopia, their hope, and of Egypt, their glory.
6 And a dweller of this isle shall say on that day, This was our hope, to which we fled for help, that they should deliver us from the face of the king of Assyrians; and (now) how may we escape? (And an inhabitant of this island shall say on that day, They were our hope, to whom we fled for help, so that they could save us from the king of Assyria; but now how can we escape?)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.