Isaiah 20 is a short, vivid chapter in which the prophet Isaiah walks barefoot and naked for three years as a sign against Egypt and Ethiopia. The questions below are for small groups, Sunday classes, and personal study. They are built so a leader can move through the chapter in one session without a separate summary.
Isaiah 20 at a Glance
The chapter opens with a dated event: the Assyrian commander Tartan captures the city of Ashdod, sent by King Sargon. God then tells Isaiah to strip off his sackcloth and sandals, and he obeys by going about without them for three years. God explains the sign: Assyria will lead away the people of Egypt and Ethiopia in the same humiliating state.
The chapter closes with the reaction of people on the coast, who had counted on Egypt and Ethiopia for protection and now ask how they will escape. Read as one movement, it moves from a historical event to a prophetic sign to a question about where real security lies.
Observation Questions
Use these first, before anyone offers an interpretation. Keep the group in the text, and let people point to specific words and verse numbers before moving on.
Isaiah 20:1
In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it…
(WEB)
Read this first to set the historical scene. Hearing the specific date and military event helps the group see that the chapter is grounded in real history.
Isaiah 20:2-3
2 At that time the LORD spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loosen the sackcloth from off your waist, and take your shoes from off your feet.” He did so, walking naked and barefoot. 3 The LORD said, “As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder concerning Egypt and concerning Ethiopia…
(WEB)
These verses contain the command and the explanation of the sign. Reading them aloud lets the group hear the unusual instruction and God’s stated reason for it.
Isaiah 20:4
So the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
(WEB)
This is the heart of the prophecy, describing the captives and their shame. Reading it slowly gives the group time to feel the weight of the image.
Isaiah 20:5
They will be dismayed and confounded, because of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
(WEB)
This verse names the collapse of the nations’ glory and of the people’s expectations. It is a key verse for discussing where trust and pride were misplaced.
Isaiah 20:6
The inhabitants of this coast land will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is our expectation, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria. And we, how will we escape?’”
(WEB)
The chapter ends with the people’s question about escape. Reading this last lets the group end with the honest cry of those who learned too late where their hope was.
Memory Verse for Isaiah 20
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as people who sometimes look first to what seems strong and safe. Show us where we have placed our expectation in things that cannot save us, and give us the honesty to name them. Teach us to obey you even when our obedience looks strange to others. Keep us from the fear that sends us running to every nearby help, and remind us that you rule over every nation and every power. Give each person here the courage to turn to you first, and let our hope rest in your faithfulness alone. Amen.
