< Isaiah 20 >

1 In the year of the coming in of Tartan to Ashdod, when Sargon king of Asshur sends him, and he fights against Ashdod and captures it,
One year King Sargon of Assyria sent the chief commander of his army [to take his soldiers] to capture Ashdod [city in Philistia].
2 at that time YHWH spoke by the hand of Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and you have loosed the sackcloth from off your loins, and you draw your sandal from off your foot,” and he does so, going naked and barefoot.
At that time, Yahweh told me, “Take off the rough sackcloth that you have been wearing and take off your sandals.” [So] I did what he told me to do, and [then] I walked around naked and barefoot [for three years].
3 And YHWH says, “As My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years, a sign and a wonder for Egypt and for Cush,
[Then] Yahweh said this [to the people of Judah]: “My servant Isaiah has been walking around naked and barefoot for the past three years. That is to show the terrible disasters that [I will cause the people of] Egypt and Ethiopia to experience.
4 so the king of Asshur leads the captivity of Egypt, and the expulsion of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot, with seat uncovered—the nakedness of Egypt;
What will happen is that the [army of the] King of Assyria will [invade those countries and capture many of the people and] take them away as their prisoners. They will force all them, including both the young ones and the old ones, to walk naked and barefoot. They will [also] force them to have no clothes around their buttocks, which will cause [the people of] Egypt to be ashamed.
5 and they have been frightened and ashamed of Cush their confidence, and of Egypt their beauty,
Then the people of other countries who trusted that the armies of Egypt and Ethiopia would be able to help them will be very dismayed/confused and afraid/disappointed.
6 and the inhabitant of this island has said in that day—Behold, thus [is] our trust, To where we have fled for help, To be delivered from the king of Asshur, And how do we escape—we?”
They will say, ‘We trusted that the armies of Egypt and Ethiopia [would help us and defend us, but they have been destroyed], so there is no way [RHQ] that we can escape from [being destroyed by the army of] the King of Assyria!’”

< Isaiah 20 >