Commentaries:
Barnes' Notes
So shall the king of Assyria - The emphasis here is on the word "so." As Isaiah has walked naked, that is, stripped off his usual clothing, "so" shall the Egyptians and Ethiopians be led away "stripped" of all their possessions.
The Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives - The Egyptians and Ethiopians, or Cushites, were often united in an alliance, and appear to have been when this prophecy was delivered. Thus Nahum 3:8 :
Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite;
Put and Lubim were thy helpers.
To the shame of Egypt - It shall be a disgrace to them to be subdued, and to be carried captive in so humiliating a manner. It is remarked by Belzoni (' Operations and Recent Discoveries in Egypt and Nubia' ), that in the figures on the remains of their temples, prisoners are often represented as naked, or only in aprons, with disheveled hair, and with their hands chained. He also remarks, that on a "bas-relief," on the recently-discovered graves of the kings of Thebes, a multitude of "Egyptian and Ethiopian prisoners" are represented - showing that Egypt and Ethiopia were sometimes "allied," alike in mutual defense and in bondage (compare Isaiah 47:2, and Nahum 3:5).
Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Isaiah 20:4:
Isaiah 10:7
Joel 3:19
Nahum 3:10
Acts 21:11
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