📖 Isaiah 20

Isaiah 20 is a real chapter from the Old Testament. It starts, “In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it;” That is not a motto invented for a poster. It is the first sentence a family hears when this page is opened at night.

Keep going a little further. The chapter also says, “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.” Isaiah 20 opens with these words: “In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it;” The line to keep is 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;” Carry the word “year” from that verse into the rest of the day.

The line worth learning out loud is 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;” If the rest of the chapter feels crowded, hold that one sentence until the room is quiet.

What happens first in Isaiah 20? Then try this: Read “In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against…” once more. What does it show you about God? You do not have to finish every verse. You can close the book after the memory verse and still have read the Bible together.