Isaiah walked naked and barefoot as a prophetic sign against Egypt and Ethiopia, demonstrating how they would be humiliated and led away captive by the Assyrians. This act was not for shock value, but a visible prophecy meant to warn Judah against placing their trust in foreign alliances rather than in the Lord.
The account is found in Isaiah 20:
“At the same time the Lord spoke by Isaiah… saying, ‘Go, and remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off your feet.’ And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.”
(Isaiah 20:2)
Isaiah’s appearance was meant to foreshadow what would happen to Egypt and Cush (Ethiopia):
“So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.”
(Isaiah 20:4)
The word “naked” in Hebrew can also mean stripped down to undergarments. The focus was humiliation and vulnerability, not immorality. Isaiah was dramatizing the fate of those who would be conquered and publicly shamed.
Judah had been tempted to form alliances with Egypt to resist Assyria. God used Isaiah’s dramatic sign to show that Egypt would not deliver them. Those who trusted in Egypt would be disappointed.
“Then they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and Egypt their glory.”
(Isaiah 20:5)
This prophetic act reminded Judah to rely on the Lord alone. Human strength, political alliances, and foreign aid would fail, but God’s deliverance would not.
Isaiah’s obedience, even in uncomfortable circumstances, showed his commitment to deliver God’s message regardless of public opinion.
