Isaiah 20:3 KJV,NLT

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-6

God here, as King of nations, brings a sore calamity upon Egypt and Ethiopia, but, as King of saints, brings good to his people out of it. Observe, I. The date of this prophecy. It was in the year that Ashdod, a strong city of the Philistines (but which some think was lately recovered from them by Hezekiah, when he smote the Philistines even unto Gaza, 2 Kgs. 18:8), was besieged and taken by an army of the Assyrians. It is uncertain what year of Hezekiah that was, but the event was so... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 20:3

And the Lord said ,.... Here follows the explanation of the sign, and the accommodation of it to the thing signified by it: like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot ; not wholly naked, for that would have been very indecent and dangerous indeed; but without his upper garment, as Saul, 1 Samuel 19:24 and David, 2 Samuel 6:14 or with rent and ragged clothes, and old shoes, as Jarchi F11 T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 77. 1. & Sabbat, fol. 114. 1. interprets it, and which... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-3

Unpleasant service. It may always remain uncertain whether Isaiah went stripped and barefoot for three whole years or for a shorter period. Two things, however, are quite certain, viz. that for some time, longer or shorter, this servant of Jehovah (verse 3) went about Jerusalem in that humiliating condition, and that he would have unhesitatingly done this all the time if God had required him to do so. Many suggestions have been made on the subject, but it does not occur to any one to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-4

Foolish trust rebuked by a strange sign. Few things are so difficult as to bring men to rely wholly and solely upon God. The circumstances of the time were these. Humanly speaking, Judaea lay absolutely at the mercy of Assyria. There was no existing power or combination of powers that could successfully contend at the time against the vast bodies of well-armed and well-disciplined soldiers which a king of Assyria could bring into the field. Nothing could prolong Jewish independence for more... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-6

A PROPHECY AGAINST EGYPT AND ETHIOPIA . The Assyrian inscriptions enable us to date this prophecy with a near approach to exactness. Ashdod was besieged by an Assyrian army twice in the reign of Sargon—in his ninth year and in his eleventh year. On the former occasion it is probable that the arms of a general (Tartan) were employed; on the latter it is nearly certain that Sargon made the expedition in person. The capture of Ashdod, here mentioned, is consequently the first... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-6

The prophet as a sign. I. THE HISTORICAL CIRCUMSTANCES . The illusion of Egyptian unity had passed away again. The country was broken up under the rule of a number of petty kings, of whom Shabak, or So, or Seve ( 2 Kings 17:4 ), was one. Negotiations seem to have been begun between Judah and Egypt, probably as a resource against the Assyrian. Ashdod was laid siege to by the Assyrians about B.C. 713-711, and the inhabitants carried off captives. And Judah's name appears in the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:2-3

Divine revelation in actions as well as words. The language is somewhat uncertain, but it seems better to understand that, for three years, Isaiah was seen going to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, having the dress and appearance of one who was already a prisoner of war, ready to be led into an ignominious exile. Isaiah wore no upper or outer garment, and no sandals, so that, when his dress was compared with that of others, he might be said to go naked; but "naked" in Scripture... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:3

My servant Isaiah . Isaiah shares this honorable title, "my servant," with a select few among God's saints—with Abraham ( Genesis 26:24 ), Moses ( Numbers 12:7 ), Caleb ( Numbers 14:24 ), Job ( Job 1:8 ; Job 42:7 , Job 42:8 ), Eliakim ( Isaiah 22:20 ), and Zerubbabel ( Haggai 2:23 ). It is a great acknowledgment for the Creator to make to the creature, that he really does him service. Three years. Probably from B.C. 713 to B.C. 711, or during the whole of the time that... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 20:3

Like as - That is, as Isaiah has gone stripped of his special garment as a prophet, so shall the Egyptians and Ethiopians be stripped of all that they value, and be carried captive into Assyria.’Hath walked ... three years - A great deal of difficulty has been felt in the interpretation of this place, from the strong improbability that Isaiah should have gone in this manner for a space of time so long as our translation expresses. The Septuagint renders this, ‘As my servant Isaiah hath walked... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 20:3-6

Isaiah 20:3-6. And the Lord Who here explains and applies the sign, said, Like as my servant hath walked naked, &c., three years Not constantly, but when he went abroad among the people, to whom this was appointed to be a sign. Bishop Lowth says, probably three days, to show, that within three years the Egyptians and Ethiopians should be conquered and made captives by the king of Assyria, and be in the same condition, and that the town should be taken. But it is objected, that... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-6

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 20:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-3

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-4

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-6

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-6

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:2-3

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:3

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 20:3

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 20:3-6

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