Isaiah 66:22–24
"Their worm shall not die": the book's last verse, Mark 9:48 and Gehenna
"And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh." The book ends with worshippers who come every new moon and sabbath, and who go out to see the corpses of rebels. In Mark 9:48 Jesus uses the same words of Gehenna. Isaiah speaks of dead bodies seen by the living; Mark of a place the hearers must avoid; later doctrine of everlasting punishment goes further than either text.
Same letters, different readings: the consonants agree, but ancient readers vocalized or interpreted them differently
The family tree
Each row is a language or text tradition. Witnesses in the same row may share ancestry, revise one another, or have an uncertain relationship; the line under each box says which. A solid arrow appears only where direct copying or a documented revised edition is established. Order by date never implies copying. Scroll sideways on a phone.
✓ contains it · ✕ does not · ❝ quotes part of it · ⓘ reports on manuscripts · ▢ pages lost · – no copy survives
- Same line, through lost copies
- Translation
- Uncertain connection
- The oracle as first spoken or written8th–6th century BC (by section; debated)
- Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa-a), Qumran Cave 1c. 125 BC (palaeography; reported)Descends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written
- 4QIsa-b (4Q56), Qumran Cave 41st century BC (reported)Descends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written
- 1QIsa-b (1Q8), Qumran Cave 11st century BC – 1st century AD (reported)Descends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written
- 4QIsa-c (4Q57), Qumran Cave 41st century AD (reported)Descends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written
- Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)AD 1008Descends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written
- Daniel 12:2 (Masoretic Text, a later echo)AD 1008Descends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written
Every witness, in order
8th–6th century BC (by section; debated)
The oracle as first spoken or written
No original survives. The oldest copies of Isaiah are the Qumran scrolls: the Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa-a, about 125 BC, nearly complete), 1QIsa-b (1Q8) and some twenty other fragmentary manuscripts.
c. 125 BC (palaeography; reported)
Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa-a), Qumran Cave 1
How the site knows this: Described from a published transcription of the manuscript. Described in the site's own words from Martin Abegg's transcription (ETCBC/CACCHT Dead Sea Scrolls dataset v2.0.5); the transcription itself is not reproduced. Photographs and DJD XXXII not yet checked.
Hebrew numbering: Isaiah 66:22–24. Vv. 22–24 as the Masoretic Text in substance, including "their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched" and the last word, "an abhorrence to all flesh" (with the article: "all the flesh"). The scroll ends here. Otherwise the differences are of spelling (fuller use of vowel letters) and small grammatical forms.
1st century BC (reported)
4QIsa-b (4Q56), Qumran Cave 4
How the site knows this: Described from a published transcription of the manuscript. Described in the site's own words from Martin Abegg's transcription (ETCBC/CACCHT Dead Sea Scrolls dataset v2.0.5); the transcription itself is not reproduced. Photographs and DJD XXXII not yet checked.
Hebrew numbering: Isaiah 66:22–24. A fragmentary copy: only parts of these verses survive, and in the transcription much of the passage is restored by the editors. Preserves the end of v. 24 in agreement with the Masoretic Text.
1st century BC – 1st century AD (reported)
1QIsa-b (1Q8), Qumran Cave 1
How the site knows this: Described from a published transcription of the manuscript. Described in the site's own words from Martin Abegg's transcription (ETCBC/CACCHT Dead Sea Scrolls dataset v2.0.5); the transcription itself is not reproduced. Photographs and DJD XXXII not yet checked.
Hebrew numbering: Isaiah 66:22–24. A fragmentary copy: only parts of these verses survive, and in the transcription much of the passage is restored by the editors. What survives agrees with the Masoretic Text.
1st century AD (reported)
4QIsa-c (4Q57), Qumran Cave 4
How the site knows this: Described from a published transcription of the manuscript. Described in the site's own words from Martin Abegg's transcription (ETCBC/CACCHT Dead Sea Scrolls dataset v2.0.5); the transcription itself is not reproduced. Photographs and DJD XXXII not yet checked.
Hebrew numbering: Isaiah 66:22–24. A fragmentary copy: only parts of these verses survive, and in the transcription much of the passage is restored by the editors. Preserves parts of vv. 22–24 in agreement with the Masoretic Text.
1st century AD; edition 2010s
Mark 9:47–48 (Greek New Testament; library: Statistical Restoration text)
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: the Greek New Testament editions in the library (Textus Receptus, Byzantine Textform, Statistical Restoration).
Καὶ ἐὰν ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου σκανδαλίζῃ σε, ἔκβαλε αὐτόν· καλόν σέ ἐστιν μονόφθαλμον εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν Βασιλείαν τοῦ ˚Θεοῦ, ἢ δύο ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχοντα βληθῆναι εἰς τὴν Γέενναν, ὅπου ‘ὁ σκώληξ αὐτῶν οὐ τελευτᾷ, καὶ τὸ πῦρ οὐ σβέννυται’.
And if your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched
Mark's report of Jesus' words. Close to the Greek of Isaiah 66:24 (C check). Words attributed to Jesus. KJV: "And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
Jerome c. AD 400, from Hebrew; edition 1592
Latin Vulgate (Clementine)
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Clementine Vulgate (1592 edition).
Quia sicut cæli novi et terra nova, quæ ego facio stare coram me, dicit Dominus, sic stabit semen vestrum et nomen vestrum. Et erit mensis ex mense, et sabbatum ex sabbato: veniet omnis caro ut adoret coram facie mea, dicit Dominus. Et egredientur, et videbunt cadavera virorum qui prævaricati sunt in me; vermis eorum non morietur, et ignis eorum non extinguetur: et erunt usque ad satietatem visionis omni carni.
Latin numbering: Isaiah 66:22–24. Jerome translated Isaiah from Hebrew (c. AD 400). The Vulgate ends "to the fill of seeing for all flesh."
AD 1008
Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, a digital transcription of the Leningrad Codex.
כִּ֣י כַאֲשֶׁ֣ר הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם הַ֠חֳדָשִׁים וְהָאָ֨רֶץ הַחֲדָשָׁ֜ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר אֲנִ֥י עֹשֶׂ֛ה עֹמְדִ֥ים לְפָנַ֖י נְאֻם־יְהוָ֑ה כֵּ֛ן יַעֲמֹ֥ד זַרְעֲכֶ֖ם וְשִׁמְכֶֽם׃ וְהָיָ֗ה מִֽדֵּי־חֹ֙דֶשׁ֙ בְּחָדְשׁ֔וֹ וּמִדֵּ֥י שַׁבָּ֖ת בְּשַׁבַּתּ֑וֹ יָב֧וֹא כָל־בָּשָׂ֛ר לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֺ֥ת לְפָנַ֖י אָמַ֥ר יְהוָֽה׃ וְיָצְא֣וּ וְרָא֔וּ בְּפִגְרֵי֙ הָאֲנָשִׁ֔ים הַפֹּשְׁעִ֖ים בִּ֑י כִּ֣י תוֹלַעְתָּ֞ם לֹ֣א תָמ֗וּת וְאִשָּׁם֙ לֹ֣א תִכְבֶּ֔ה וְהָי֥וּ דֵרָא֖וֹן לְכָל־בָּשָֽׂר׃
And they shall go out and look on the corpses of the people who rebelled against me; for their worm will not die and their fire will not be quenched, and they will be an abhorrence to all flesh (v. 24)
Hebrew numbering: Isaiah 66:22–24.
AD 1008
Daniel 12:2 (Masoretic Text, a later echo)
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, a digital transcription of the Leningrad Codex.
וְרַבִּ֕ים מִיְּשֵׁנֵ֥י אַדְמַת־עָפָ֖ר יָקִ֑יצוּ אֵ֚לֶּה לְחַיֵּ֣י עוֹלָ֔ם וְאֵ֥לֶּה לַחֲרָפ֖וֹת לְדִרְא֥וֹן עוֹלָֽם׃
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to reproaches, to everlasting contempt
The only other use of the word for "abhorrence" (dir'on).
1611
King James Bible
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: King James Version (1769 text).
For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
1611
Mark 9:44 and 9:46 (King James Version; later scribal additions)
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: King James Version (1769 text).
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Not in the oldest Greek manuscripts of Mark; omitted by modern critical editions, including the library's Greek New Testament (where both verses are empty). Added to repeat v. 48 after vv. 43 and 45.
Greek translation c. 2nd century BC; French 1872
Greek Isaiah (library: Giguet's French)
How the site knows this: Known here only through a translation.
Car de même que le ciel nouveau et la terre nouvelle que je créerai subsisteront devant moi, dit le Seigneur, de même votre race et votre nom seront fermement établis. Et ceci sera de lune en lune, de sabbat en sabbat: toute chair viendra en Jérusalem pour adorer devant moi, dit le Seigneur. Et ils sortiront, et ils verront les membres épars de ceux qui auront péché contre moi; car le ver qui les rongera ne finira point; le feu qui les brûlera ne sera jamais éteint, et ils seront exposés à la vue de toute chair.
Greek (digital file) numbering: Isaiah 66:22–24. Giguet's 1872 French of a printed Greek text (D check only); a C check needs Ziegler's Göttingen Isaiah or Rahlfs–Hanhart. The Greek ends "they shall be a spectacle to all flesh."
What changed, and why
Classification: stable text in every Qumran copy that preserves it (1QIsa-a ends here); later quotation in Mark 9:48 (Mark 9:44 and 9:46 in the KJV are later scribal repetitions); a long and changing reception (Gehenna, final judgment).
Dera'on, "abhorrence," occurs only here and in Daniel 12:2, where some awake "to shame and everlasting contempt (dir'on)." Daniel appears to read Isaiah's corpses as people raised for judgment: an early reinterpretation within the Bible.
In synagogue reading, v. 23 is repeated after v. 24 so that the book does not end on its harshest line (a practice also followed for Malachi, Lamentations and Ecclesiastes; reported). Some Jewish translations print it so.
What the evidence shows
- Mark 9:48 quotes Isaiah 66:24.
- Mark 9:44 and 9:46 are absent from the oldest manuscripts.
- Isaiah 66:24 describes the corpses of the slain.
- Isaiah 66:24 teaches everlasting conscious punishment. A later reading; the text speaks of corpses.
- Gehenna was a burning rubbish dump. First found in a medieval commentary (Kimchi, c. AD 1200); no ancient or archaeological evidence is known.
Sources
Related lessons
- Isaiah 66: Heaven Is My Throne →"The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me?… but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word" (66:1–2). Sacrifice without obedience is as murder and idolatry (vv. 3–4). "Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake" will be ashamed (v. 5). Zion gives birth before her pains come: "shall a nation be born at once?" (vv. 6–9). "Rejoice ye with Jerusalem… As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you" (vv. 10–14). The LORD comes with fire and sword; those who purify themselves in gardens and eat swine's flesh and the mouse will be consumed (vv. 15–17). God will gather all nations and tongues, send survivors to Tarshish, Pul, Lud, Tubal, Javan and the distant isles, who will bring Israel's brothers as an offering; "I will also take of them for priests and for Levites" (vv. 18–21). As the new heavens and new earth remain, so will your seed; "from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me" (vv. 22–23). "And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh" (v. 24).
- Investigation: New Heavens and the Disturbing Ending →Isaiah has several pictures of the future, and they are not the same. In chapters 24–27 the earth is emptied and judged, and then God "will swallow up death in victory" (25:8) and "thy dead men shall live" (26:19). In chapter 35 the desert blooms and the blind see. In 65:17–25 God creates "new heavens and a new earth," where a person who dies at a hundred dies young. In 66:22–24 all flesh worships, and the worshippers look on the corpses of the rebels whose worm does not die. Later writers took up these images: Daniel 12:2, Mark 9:48, 2 Peter 3:13 and Revelation 21:1–5. This investigation compares them without assuming that they describe one event with one timetable.
- Investigation: Jesus and Isaiah →Isaiah is quoted in the Gospels more than any other prophet. This study registers 55 uses that involve Jesus: 20 in Matthew, 14 in Mark, 12 in Luke and 9 in John. For each it records who speaks (Jesus as the Gospel reports him, the narrator, John the Baptist, a heavenly voice, Simeon, or a later scribe), the Isaiah passage and its original setting, the Gospel's Greek wording, whether the use is an explicit quotation, a quotation without formula, an allusion, a proposed allusion, or a later Christian connection, and how that Gospel uses it. Each Gospel is kept separate.