Isaiah 20:4

4 so shall the king of Assyria lead the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot, {with bared buttocks}, 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 at that time, Yahweh had spoken by the hand of Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, "Go and loosen the sackcloth from your loins, and take off your sandals from your feet," and he had done so, walking naked and barefoot.

3 Then Yahweh said, "Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years [as] a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush,

4 so shall the king of Assyria lead the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot, {with bared buttocks}, the shame of Egypt.

5 And they shall be dismayed, and they shall be ashamed because of Cush, their hope, and because of Egypt, their pride.

6 And [the] inhabitant [of] the coastland will say this on that day: 'Look! This [is] our hope [to] whom we fled for help, to be delivered {from} the king of Assyria, and how shall we escape?'"

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew "captive"
• [b]. Literally "and bare of buttocks"