Quaker Bible Index: Isaiah 14-20

[14:1-4 omitted]

14:5 The LORD hath broken the staff [G: rod] of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.

14:6 He who [G: which] smote the people in wrath [G: anger] with a continual stroke, he that [G: plague, and] ruled the nations in anger, is [G wrath: if any were] persecuted, and none hindereth [G: he did not let]. qtext

14:7 The whole earth [G: world] is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing [G: sing for joy].

14:8 Yea, the fir trees rejoice [G: rejoiced] at [G: of] thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come [G: hewer came] up against us.

14:9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming : it stirreth [G: raising] up the dead for thee, even, all the chief ones [G: princes] of the earth; it [G: and] hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

14:10 All they shall speak [G: cry] and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? qtext

[Isa 14:10, cf Judg 16:7]

14:11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise [G: sound] of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou [G: and] cut down to the ground, which didst weaken [G: cast lots upon] the nations! qtext

14:13 For thou hast said [G: Yet thou saidst] in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above [G: +beside] the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

[Isa 14:13, 15: Mat 11:23, Luk 10:15]

14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

14:15 Yet [GL: But] thou shalt be brought down to hell [G: the grave], to the sides of the pit

[Isa 14:13, 15: Mat 11:23, Luk 10:15]

14:16 They that see thee shall narrowly [G omits] look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

14:17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? qtext

14:18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them [G: they all], lie [G: sleep] in glory [L: honour], every one in his own house.

14:19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

(Isa 14:6)

[Other texts citing Isa 14:6: HPS 425 (Isa 19:4)

(Isa 14:10)

JN1:63 (1653): Therefore take heed, you that tread the poor and helpless under your feet [Amos 5:11]; repent, repent, your day is coming on apace wherein the Lord will avenge the poor on him that is too strong for him. And how canst thou stand at that day, when thou shalt become weak as another man [Judg 16:7; mar: Isa 14:10], and no false pretenses will be accepted? Thou must be judged according to thy works, good or evil [Rev 20:12f]. Oh that you had hearts to humble yourselves before the Lord, that ye might find mercy at that day, for why will you perish through your own will [Ezek 18:31]?

(Isa 14:12-15)

[Other texts citing Isa 14:12-25: JN1:156 (Mat 17:20)]

(Isa 14:12)

[Other texts citing Isa 14:12: WPT 199 (Rev 13:8)]

JN1:139 (1653): O man and woman, how art thou fallen [Isa 14:12] from thy maker and from the estate wherein thou was created? [mar: Gen 1:26f]

(Isa 14:17)

[Other texts citing Isa 14:17: GF3:14f (Mat 21:19), GF3:274 (1 Cor 9:4); GF7:9 (Mat 10:16), GF7:262 (Mat 7:15f), GF7:342 (Rev 11:3), GF8:12 (1 Jn 5:19), GF8: 57 (Rom 1:29), GF8:71 (Gen 3:15]

GFJN 33 ([1648]): ...the Lord commanded me to go abroad into the world which was like a briery, thorny wilderness [Isa 14:17/Judg 8:7]. When I came, in the Lord's mighty power, with the word of life into the world, the world swelled and made a noise like the great raging waves of the sea [Isa 17:12/Jude 1:13]. Priests and professors, magistrates and people, were all like a sea [Rev 17:15], when I came to proclaim the day of the Lord [Joel 2:1] amongst them, and to preach repentance [Mark 1:4 | Luk 3:3] to them.

IP2:426 (1666): ...wait for the power from on high [Luk 24:49], from whence is the true faith (wherein is the true church and its standing), for want of which the world is become a wilderness [Isa 14:17]; full indeed of profession, but very empty of the nature and life of Christianity.

14:20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial [G: the grave], because thou hast destroyed thy [G: thine own] land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned [G: the wicked shall not be renowned for ever] . qtext

14:21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise [G: let them not rise up], nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities [G: enemies].

14:22 For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon [G: Babel] the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD. qtext

14:23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern [G: hedgehog], and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts. qtext

14:24 The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought [G: like as I have purposed], so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it [G: consulted, it shall] stand:

14:25 That I will break the Assyrian [G: to pieces Ashur] in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall [G: so that] his yoke depart from off [G: shall depart from] them, and his burden depart [G: sahll be taken] from off their shoulders [G: shoulder].

14:26 This is the purpose [G: counsel] that is purposed [G: consulted] upon the whole earth [G: world]: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. qtext

14:27 For [G: Because] the LORD of hosts hath purposed [G: determined it] , and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back [G: away]? qtext

14:28 In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.

14:29 Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote [G: did beat] thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.

14:30 And the firstborn of the poor shall feed [G: be fed], and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he [G: it] shall slay thy remnant.

14:31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole [G: +land of] Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times [G: at his time appointed].

14:32 What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation [G: Gentiles]? That the LORD hath founded [G: stablished] Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.

(Isa 14:20)

EQ 310 (Samuel Fisher, 1661): This is that noble, righteous, holy Seed, which while man was at first born, made, created and planted after the nature and image of, he was said to be planted a noble vine; wholly a right seed [Jer 2:21], till by being alienated, separated, and estranged from it into his earthly part, he became a degenerate plant of a strange vine unto the Lord [Jer 2:21], a seed of evil- doers, that are never more to be renowned [Isa 14:20], unless they come again to be born of this holy Seed [Isa 6:13], which is anothen, from above....

(Isa 14:22)

GF4:70 (1656): Now this branch [Isa 11:1], this king, this shepherd, this fold [John 10:16] do we witness, that are his sheep, and are come to witness the life that Moses ... and David ... and the prophets were in, from which life the scriptures were given forth to be believed and fulfilled, which we see with the same that gave them forth, and the Son we see to reign; and the Lord is cutting off, according to his promise, Babel, his name and his remanat, son and nephew [Isa 14:22], and there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, like as it was unto Israel in the day when he came up out of the land of Egypt [Isa 11:16]: of this take notice.

(Isa 14:23)

GF7:274 (1666): The besom of the Lord is going forth to sweep [Isa 14:23], the candle of the Lord [Prov 20:27] is lighted to search every corner of your houses [Luke 15:8f]; for the just walk in the path which is a shining light [Prov 4:18], which admits of no rubbish in it.

HPS 468 (Ann Gilman, 1662): to those that forget God, and turn their backs at his reproof, and will none of his counsel [Prov 1:25], such will our God sweep away with the besom of destrucion [Isa 14:23]; for the worker of iniquity will not be able to abide his presence in that day. Therefore, O King, consider what thou art doing, for the Lord hath long waited upon thee to be gracious [Isa 30:18]....

(Isa 14:26)

GFJN 194 (1655): Therefore live in the power of the Lord God, and feel his hand that is stretched over the nations [Isa 14:26]; for a mighty work hath the Lord to do in other nations, and their quaking and shaking is but entering [Ezek 26:10].... In the presence of the Lord God, live in the power of the Lord God of heaven and earth, that will make all nations to tremble and to quake [Isa 64:2?]; for those are God's enemies that be out of his power and counsel.

(Isa 14:27)

IP1:193 (1659): Jerusalem is the city of the great King, which is coming down from heaven [Rev 21:2]: and Israel is his people; and both must have a place in the earth. The Lord hath determined it, and who can withstand it [Isa 14:27G]? What prejudice can Jerusalem, or the inhabitants thereof, bring unto you? They are enemies, indeed, to this earthly state of things, and would have all brought into subjection to the life and power of their king, and all that stands in opposition to God brought down, and made pliable to his spirit; and this the unyoked earthly spirit [Mat 11:29f] cannot bear. But this is the interest of your souls, and the way to unity with that life which is their happiness, peace, and rest for ever. For if ye could pass through the fire [Num 31:33], and bear the burning up of your dross, ye also might become vessels for the finer [Prov 25:4], and might dwell with them in their everlasting habitation.

15:1 The burden of Moab. Because in the night [G: Surely] Ar of Moab is laid waste [G: was destroyed], and brought to silence [G: +in a night] ; because in the night [G: Surely] Kir of Moab is laid waste [G: was destroyed], and brought to silence [G: +in a night]; qtext

15:2 He is gone up to Bajith [G: shall go up to the temple], and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba [G: for Nebo and for Medeba shall Moab howl]: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off [G: shaven].

15:3 In their streets they shall gird themselves [G: shall they be girded] with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly [G: and come down with weeping].

[Isa 15:4-9 omitted]

(Isa 15:1)

[GF cites Isa 15:1 as part of a series of quotes on silence.]

GF4:119 (1657): Kir of Moab was brought to silence, because he was in the night. Isa 15[:1]. And all of you that be of Moab's stock must keep silence, though you had a time to speak [Eccl 3:7], and used your tongues [Jer 23:21] before the time of silence [Eccl 3:7] was known, and the tongue of the dumb to sing [Isa 35:6]....

(Isa 15:2f)

[Other texts citing Isa 15:2f: GF5:441 (Isa 22:12)]

[Isa 16:1-5 omitted]

16:6 We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath [G: even his pride, and his arrogancy, and his indignation]: but his lies shall not be so.

16:7 Therefore shall Moab howl for [G: unto] Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are [G: shall be] stricken.

16:8 For the fields [G: vineyards] of Heshbon languish [G: are cut down], and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down [G omits] the principal plants [G: vines] thereof, they are come even [G omits] unto Jazer, they wandered through [G: in] the wilderness: her [G: +goodly] branches are stretched out, they are gone [G: stretched out themselves, and went] over the sea.

16:9 Therefore I will bewail [G: weep] with the weeping of Jazer [G: +and of the] the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee [G: make thee drunk] with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest [G: because upon thy summer fruits and upon thy harvest a shouting] is fallen.

16:10 And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there [G omits] shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting [G: no shouting for joy]: the treaders shall tread out no [G: treader shall not tread] wine in their [G: the wine] presses; I have made their vintage shouting [G: caused the rejoicing] to cease.

16:11 Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.

[Isa 16:12-14 omitted]

17:1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

17:2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which [G: for they] shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. qtext

17:3 The fortress [G: munition] also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they [G: Aram] shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts.

17:4 And in that day it shall come to pass, that [G omits] the glory of Jacob shall be made thin [G: be impoverished], and the fatness of his flesh shall wax [G: be made] lean.

17:5 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it [G: he] shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.

17:6 Yet gleaning [G: a gathering of] grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough [G: upmost boughs], four or five in the outmost fruitful branches [G: high branches of the fruit] thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel.

17:7 At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect [G: look] to the Holy One of Israel.

17:8 And he shall not look to the altars, the work [G: works] of his [G: +own] hands, neither shall respect that [G: he look to those things] which his [G: + own] fingers have made, either the groves, or the [G: as groves and] images.

17:9 In that day shall his strong cities [G: the cities of their strength] be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch [G: the forsaking of boughs and branches], which they left [G: did forsake] because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.

17:10 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock [G: remembered the God] of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant [G: set] pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips [G: graff strange vine branches]: qtext

17:11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of [G: gone in the day of possession, and there shall be] desperate sorrow. qtext

17:12 Woe to [G: Ah,] the multitude of many people, which make a noise [G: they shall make a sound] like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing [G: sea; for the noise of the people shall make a sound like the noise] of mighty waters! qtext

17:13 The nations shall rush like the rushing [G: people shall make a sound like the noise] of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like [G: as] a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

17:14 And behold at eveningtide [G: lo, in the evening there is] trouble; and before the morning he is not [G: but afore the morning it is gone]. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.

(Isa 17:2)

SIW 118 (Priscilla Hannah Gurney, 18–): [dream of Mary Davis] ...she remitted not her care, till we both gained the summit, where she saw me safely enclosed in a fine green pasture [Psa 23:2], significant of that spiritual place, whre the Shepherd of his people feeds his flock [Isa 40:11], and causes them to lie down and rest as at noon day [Song 1:7]; even where nothing is permitted to make them afraid [Isa 17:2]

(Isa 17:10)

GF4:376 (1671): The Lord hath said, "like as my hand hath found out the kingdom of the idols, seeing their idols were above Jerusalem, and above Samaria: shall not I, as I have done to Samaria, and to the idols thereof, so do unto Jerusalem, and to the idols thereof?" [1 Cor 10:10fG] and so will not the Lord do unto the christian idols, and idolaters, and image-makers? For, are not your actions open to his eye? For you that are image-makers, and idol-makers, have forgot the Lord of your salvation, and have not remembered the God of your strength [Isa 17:10G].

(Isa 17:10f)

IP3: 410 (1677): Query 7. When do men kindle a fire and sparks of their own [Isa 50:11]? Do they not first forget the God of their salvation, and become unmindful of the rock of their strength? And do they not then plant pleasant plants, and set strange slips? (And where do they plant and set them?) But what will the harvest be in the day of inheritance, when they come to reap and inherit what they have planted and sown? (For what a man soweth, that must he also reap [Gal 6:7].) Will it not be a heap for the fire of God's jealousy to take hold on, in the day of their tribulation, anguish, and desperate sorrow of heart? Isa 17:10-11.

(Isa 17:11)

JWJM 255 (17–): oppression ... clothes itself with the name of justice and becomes like a seed of discord in the soil ; and as this spirit which wanders from the pure habitation prevails, so the seed of war swells and sprouts and grows and becomes strong, till much fruits are ripened. Thus cometh the harvest spoken of by the prophet, which is "a heap in the day of grief, and of desperate sorrow [Isa 17:11]."

(Isa 17:12f)

[Other texts citing Isa 17:12f: GFJN 33 (Isa 14:17), GF3:107 (Gen 8:9)]

18:1 Woe to [G: Oh,] the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:

18:2 That sendeth [G: Sending] ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes [G: reeds] upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled [G: that is scattered abroad, and spoiled], to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down [G: little by little, even trodden under foot], whose land the rivers [G: floods] have spoiled!

18:3 All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on [G: shall see when he setteth up a sign in] the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye [G: ye shall hear]. qtext

[18:4-7 omitted]

(Isa 18:3)

[DGA 70: see note under Isa 11:10]

19:1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. qtext

19:2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one [G: so every one shall fight] against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.

19:3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof [G: of her]; and I will destroy the counsel thereof [G: their counsel]: and they shall seek to [G: at (4x)] the idols, and to the charmers [G: sorcerers], and to them that have familiar spirits [G: spirits of divination], and to the wizards [G: soothsayers].

19:4 And the Egyptians will I give over [G: I will deliver the Egyptians] into the hand of a cruel lord [G: cruel lords]; and aa fierce [G: mighty] king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD [G: God] of hosts. qtext

[19:5-10 omitted]

(Isa 19:1)

GF4:376 (1671): [quotes Isa 19:1] Now consider, you spiritual Egyptians with your idols and images, think you not that the Lord will come upon you that are spiritual Egypt? And do you not think that your Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of your Egypt shall melt in the midst of you?

(Isa 19:4)

HPS 425 (Elizabeth Bathurst, 1679): ...as you stand and wait in the Light of the Lord [Isa 2:5], though you can handle neither sword nor spear, he will make you shew comely as Tirzah, and terrible to the wicked, even as an army with banners [Song 6:4]: For though the remnant of the just (as to outward defense) are left this day like a city without gates or walls [Ezek 38:11, Zech 2:4], whom the wicked will be plotting against; yet God will laugh at him, for he seeth that hs day is coming [Psa 37:12f]; and hath also given me this confidence of hope in him, to wit, that he will not give his people into the hands of cruel lords, nor suffer men of fierce countenance to rule over them [Isa 19:4 / Dan 8:23]: But they shall be as standers in the gap, and stakes in the hedge [Ezek 22:30] (though some may be of tender growth) to stop the enemy from laying waste our country, and to stay the Lord's sore and terrible stroke [Isa 14:6].

19:11 Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish [G: foolish]: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?

19:12 Where are they? where are [G: now] thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know [G: that they may tell thee, or may know] what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon [G: determined against] Egypt.

19:13 The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced [G: deceived] Egypt, even they that are the stay [G: the corners] of the tribes thereof.

19:14 The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof [G: mingled amongst them the spirit of errors]: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth [G: erreth] in his vomit. qtext

19:15 Neither shall there be any work for [G: in] Egypt, which the head or [G: may do, nor the] tail, branch or rush, may do [G: the branch nor the rush]. qtext

[19:16-23 omitted]

19:24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria [G: Asshur], even a blessing in the midst of the land:

19:25 Whom [G: For] the LORD of hosts shall bless [G +it], saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

(Isa 19:14)

GF4:284 (1661): these are in the spirit of error [1 Jn 4:6], and the spirit of antichrist [1 Jn 4:3], and the spirit of bondage [Rom 8:15], the unclean spirits [Mat 10:1], and come to be the familiar spirit [Lev 20:7], and of divination [Acts 16:16], the proud spirit [Eccl 7:8?], and the spirit of whoredom [Hos 4:12], and perverse spirit [Isa 19:14], and spirit of jealousy [Num 5:14], and come to be the frogs that go abroad to deceive and creep under every mountain, and hill, and rock, croaking with their unclean spirits like frogs [Rev 16:13], become the evil spirit, which the saints of the living God must try [1 Jn 4:1] with the living spirit....

JN3:237 (1656): ...thy greatest work in thy book is to deny Christ according to the inward man, and to set up the knowledge of him according to the flesh; and thus with thy drunken dark spirit thou confounds thyself, and staggers to and fro at noonday, vomiting out thy own shame and confusion [Isa 19:14/Isa 59:10/Jude 1:13].

(Isa 19:15)

JN3:320 (1656): the arm of the Lord is seen gatherin g his sheep, which by you have been scattered upon the barren mountains this cloudy dark day [Ezek 34:12], ever since the rise of the pope and his adherents, the head and tail, talk and branch [Isa 19:15] that from him spring.

20:1 In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria [G: Asshur] sent him,) and [G +had] fought against Ashdod, and took [G: taken] it;

20:2 At the same time spake the LORD by [G: +the hand of] Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off [G omits] thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. qtext

20:3 And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;

20:4 So shall the king of Assyria lead away [G: Asshur take away] the Egyptians prisoners [G: the captivity of Egypt], and the Ethiopians captives [G: captivity of Ethiopia], young and old [G: both young men and old men], naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.

20:5 And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.

20:6 And [G: Then shall] the inhabitant of this isle shall [G omits] say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee [G: fled] for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria [G: Asshur]: and how shall we escape [G: be delivered]?

(Isa 20:)

[Other texts citing Isa 20::]

(Isa 20:2-4)

WBB 150f: [Friends] felt themselves to be the prophets of a new religious era. The word of the Lord burned within them and demanded expression in speech and action. Saturated with Bible knowledge, they there found examples for their own conduct. In this matter of testifying truth by signs, Old Testament prophecy and apocalyptic imagery were rich in fitting phrase and authoritative precedent. They read, for instance, that Isaiah (Ch 20; cf Micah 1:8) walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder upon Egypt andd Ethiopia.... Desiring to show that Cromwell, his Parliament and priests would be stripped of their power, [they] acted again, as they supposed, the sign of the prophet, all the more zealously because their natural feelings shrank from obedience to the Divine command.

GF3:148 (1659): and if any have been moved of the Lord, to put off their clothes, it has been as a sign among you [Isa 20:2-4], to show you are naked and want the covering of the spirit [Isa 30:1].

GF3:495 (1659): It was the mind of the Lord for Isaiah to go naked, and to strip himself in Egypt and Ethiopia [Isa 20:2-4], as many are moved of the Lord to go naked among you of spiritual Egypt [Rev 11:8] and Ethiopia, and to put off their clothes; which is a figure to you, that the sheep's clothing must be taken off your ravening wolves' backs [Mat 7:15].

JN1:205 (1654): ... the Lord hath caused some of his servants to go naked [Isa 20:2-4] along your streets ... as signs of his wrath to come [Mat 3:7] upon that pride and fullness [Ezek 16:49] that priests and people live in....

JN1:391 (1654): And for any going naked or being otherwise made signs and wonders to ye [Isa 20:2-4], which ye charge as a great thing against us, ye being ignorant of the power of God by which these men are acted, any wise man may know these do it not according to their own wills but in obedience unto God, which commands some have denied to obey, for which the heavy judgments of God have been laid upon them from which they could not be freed till they were made obedient, as is well known in Kendal.

RML 126 (William Simpson, 1660): As naked shall you be spiritually, as my body hath been temporally naked ... as a sign [Isa 20:2-4] of the nakedness and shame that is coming upon the Church of England [cf Isa 47:3, Nah 3:5 ].

TEM 28 (16–): [My father] began to reckon up a beadroll of faults against the Quakers, telling me ... that one of them stripped himself stark naked, and went in that unseemly manner about the streets, and fairs and on market days in great towns.... To the last charge of going naked, a particular answer ... was just then brought into mind aad put into my mouth, ... and that was the example of Isaiah, who went naked among the people for a long time [Isa 20:2-4]. "Ay," said my father, but you must consider that he was a prophet of the Lord, and had an express command from God to go so." "Yes sir," replied I, "I do consider that; but I consider also, that the Jews, among whom he lived, did not own him for a prophet, nor believe that he had such a command form God. And," added I, "how know we but that this Quaker may be a prophet too, and might be commanded to do as he did, for some reason which we understand not?"

Quaker Bible Index

ISAIAH 14 - 20