The Sign of the Naked Prophet
1 In the year that the general sent by Sargon, king of Assy ria, made an
assault upon Ashdod, capturing it,
2 Yahweh gave a warning through Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saying, ˇ°Hang the
sackcloth from your hips, take off your sandals and go.ˇ± He did so, and
walked naked and barefoot.
3 Then Yahweh said: Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot
for three years as a sign and portent for Egypt and Ethiopia,
4 so will the king of Assyria lead away captives from Egypt and exiles from
Ethiopia, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, their buttocks
uncovered, to the disgrace of Egypt.
5 Those who pinned their hope upon Ethiopia and made a boast of Egypt will
be frightened and put to shame.
6 On that day the inhabitants of this coastland will say, ˇ°Look at what
happened to those we trusted and fled to for help and deliverance from the
king of Assyria! What are we going to do now to save ourselves?ˇ±
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Comments Isaiah, Chapter 20
• 20.1 We can easily imagine the impact of this sym bolic gesture. Egypt was
among the powerful of that time. Compared with Assyria, an example of
military power, Egypt was the richer country, with a more refined
civilization. The Jews were counting on Egypt and were asking for help:
chariots and horses.
ˇ°Alas for those who trust in humansˇ± (Jer 17:5).