Single lesson
Isaiah's Warning Sign about Egypt and Cush
Isaiah 20:1–6
This lesson helps students trace Isaiah 20:1–6 carefully, observe the warning sign Yahweh gave through Isaiah, and discuss what the passage says about misplaced hope in Egypt and Ethiopia when Assyria threatened.
Before you teach
Isaiah 20:1–6 opens when Ashdod is attacked and taken by a commander sent by the king of Assyria. In that setting, Yahweh speaks to Isaiah son of Amoz and gives him an acted sign. The passage itself explains that the sign concerns Egypt and Ethiopia, and it ends with the coastland people asking how they will escape.
Students will be able to sequence Isaiah 20:1–6 and explain from the passage that people who hoped in Egypt and Ethiopia for help were left dismayed when Assyria's power reached them too.
Welcome: A serious sign in the passage
5 minTell students this passage contains a difficult public-sign image, and the class will discuss it soberly and without acting it out. Ask them to listen for four stages in the text: the setting at Ashdod, Yahweh's command to Isaiah, the meaning of the sign, and the reaction of the coastland people. Then read Isaiah 20:1–6 aloud once.
Isaiah 20:1, Isaiah 20:2, Isaiah 20:3, Isaiah 20:6
Read and explain: The setting and Isaiah's obedience
9 minFocus on Isaiah 20:1–2. The passage begins with Ashdod being fought against and taken by a commander sent by the king of Assyria. In that time, Yahweh speaks to Isaiah and tells him to loosen the sackcloth from his waist and remove his sandals. Isaiah does what Yahweh says, becoming a visible sign through his obedience.
Isaiah 20:1, Isaiah 20:2
Discuss: What the sign meant
10 minRead Isaiah 20:3–4 again. Yahweh explains that Isaiah's walking naked and barefoot was a sign and a wonder concerning Egypt and Ethiopia. The meaning is not hidden in this passage: the king of Assyria will lead away captives of Egypt and exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, in shame. Note carefully that the sign points to humiliation and captivity.
Isaiah 20:3, Isaiah 20:4
Respond with the text: Sequence and consequence chart
10 minGive students five slips or lines on paper with these text moments to order: Ashdod taken, Yahweh commands Isaiah, Isaiah obeys, Assyria will lead away captives and exiles, coastland people ask how they will escape. After ordering them, students write one sentence beside each from the verses. Finish by identifying whose hope and glory are named in Isaiah 20:5–6.
Isaiah 20:1, Isaiah 20:2, Isaiah 20:4, Isaiah 20:5, Isaiah 20:6
Closing: The final question in the passage
6 minRead Isaiah 20:5–6 together. The people are dismayed and confounded because Ethiopia had been their expectation and Egypt their glory. The inhabitants of the coastland say Egypt was where they fled for help against the king of Assyria, yet now they ask, 'And we, how will we escape?' Close by restating only what this passage itself highlights about failed hope.
Isaiah 20:5, Isaiah 20:6
Questions to explore
What event sets the scene before Yahweh speaks to Isaiah?
Start with the opening verse and name the city, the commander, and what happened there.
Isaiah 20:1
According to Yahweh's own explanation, what did Isaiah's sign concern and what did it point to?
Use Isaiah 20:3–4 to connect the sign with Egypt and Ethiopia and with what the king of Assyria would do.
Isaiah 20:3, Isaiah 20:4
Why are the inhabitants of the coastland left asking, 'How will we escape?'
Read the end of the passage closely and trace their expectation, their flight for help, and their final question.
Isaiah 20:5, Isaiah 20:6
Make, think or respond
Isaiah 20 Order and Meaning Chart
What you’ll need
- plain paper
- pens or pencils
- Bible
Try it together
- Draw a line down the page to make two columns titled 'What happens' and 'What it means'.
- In the first column, list five events from Isaiah 20:1–6 in order, each with its verse reference.
- In the second column, write a brief meaning statement beside each event using words from the passage.
- Circle the phrases that show where people hoped for help and underline the final question in Isaiah 20:6.
This activity keeps students close to the wording and order of Isaiah 20:1–6 while helping them see how the acted sign leads to the passage's warning about hope in Egypt and Ethiopia.
Adapt for your group
- For ages 12–14, provide the five event prompts already written and ask students to place them in order before adding short verse-based meanings.
- For ages 15–17, ask students to compare the wording of Isaiah 20:5 and Isaiah 20:6 and explain how the final spoken question grows out of the failed expectation named there.
An optional closing prayer
You may pray: 'Lord God, help us read this serious passage carefully, listen to your warning, and understand what you have said here. Amen.'
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
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;
2 at that time Yahweh spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loosen the sackcloth from off your waist, and take your sandals from off your feet.” He did so, walking naked and barefoot.
3 Yahweh said, “As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder concerning Egypt and concerning Ethiopia,
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.
5 They will be dismayed and confounded, because of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
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?’ ”
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.