Isaiah 20

1 One year King Sargon of Assyria sent the chief commander of his army [to take his soldiers] to capture Ashdod [city in Philistia].

In the year when Sargon, king of Assyria, sent his army commander to attack the town of Ashdod and conquered it,

2 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].

at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah, son of Amoz. He told him, “Take off the sackcloth clothes from your body and remove your sandals.” Isaiah did so and went around naked and barefoot.

3 [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.

Then the Lord said, “In the same way that my servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a warning against Egypt and Ethiopia,

4 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.

so shall the king of Assyria lead the Egyptian prisoners and the Ethiopian exiles, both young and old, naked and barefoot. Their buttocks will be bare, to Egypt's shame.

5 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.

They will be discouraged and humiliated because they had put their hope in Ethiopia and proudly trusted in Egypt.

6 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!’”

At that time the people living in the coastal lands will say, ‘Look what has happened those we were depending on! We ran to them for help to save us from the king of Assyria. We don't stand a chance!’”