Isaiah 20

1 In the year that Tartan entered Ashdod, when Sargon king of Assyria, sent him, —and he fought against Ashdod and captured 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, spake Yahweh, through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, Go, and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, And thy sandal, draw thou off from thy foot, —And he did so, walking disrobed 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 Then said Yahweh, —As my servant Isaiah, hath walked, disrobed and barefoot three years as a sign and a wonder against Egypt and against Ethiopia,

[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, shall the king of Assyria lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Ethiopia young and old disrobed and barefoot, with their persons behind Uncovered the shame 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 Thus shall they be confounded and turn pale, —For Ethiopia, their expectation, and For Egypt their boast;

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 shore, shall exclaim, in that day, Lo! such, is our expectation, whereunto we fled for help, that we might be delivered from the presence of the king of Assyria! How then shall, we, escape?

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!’”