The Sign Against Egypt and Ethiopia

20 In the year that aTartan 1came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it, 2 at the same time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and remove bthe sackcloth from your 2body, and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, cwalking naked and barefoot.

3 Then the Lord said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years dfor a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, 4 so shall the eking of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, fwith their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 gThen they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and Egypt their glory. 6 And the inhabitant of this territory will say in that day, ‘Surely such is our expectation, wherever we flee for hhelp to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?’ ”

The Fall of Babylon Proclaimed

21 The 1burden against the Wilderness of the Sea.

As awhirlwinds in the South pass through,

So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land.

2 A distressing vision is declared to me;

bThe treacherous dealer deals treacherously,

And the plunderer plunders.

cGo up, O Elam!

Besiege, O Media!

All its sighing I have made to cease.

3 Therefore dmy loins are filled with pain;

ePangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor.

I was 2distressed when I heard it;

I was dismayed when I saw it.

4 My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me;

fThe night for which I longed He turned into fear for me.

5 gPrepare the table,

Set a watchman in the tower,

Eat and drink.

Arise, you princes,

Anoint the shield!

6 For thus has the Lord said to me:

“Go, set a watchman,

Let him declare what he sees.”

7 And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen,

A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels,

And he listened earnestly with great care.

8 3Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord!

I stand continually on the hwatchtower in the daytime;

I have sat at my post every night.

9 And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!”

Then he answered and said,

i“Babylon is fallen, is fallen!

And jall the carved images of her gods

He has broken to the ground.”

10 kOh, my threshing and the grain of my floor!

That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts,

The God of Israel,

I have declared to you.

Proclamation Against Edom

11 lThe 4burden against Dumah.

He calls to me out of mSeir,

“Watchman, what of the night?

Watchman, what of the night?”

12 The watchman said,

“The morning comes, and also the night.

If you will inquire, inquire;

Return! Come back!”