Isaiah 66:24
in Isaiah 66“As they go forth, they will see the corpses of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never be quenched, and they will be a horror to all mankind.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they shall go forth, and look upon the dead bodies 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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Isaiah 66
Commentary
15 notes on this verseIf heaven and earth are renewed, how can we doubt the possibility of our renewal, for whom heaven and earth were made? If the transgressor is kept for punishment, why should not the just person be preserved for glory? If the worm of sinners does not die, how shall the flesh of the just perish? For the resurrection, as the very form of the word indicates, is this: What has fallen shall rise again, what has died shall live again.
This site's exposition
As they go forth, they will see the corpses
The last verse turns to “the corpses of the men who have rebelled against Me”, “for their worm will never die”. Jesus takes up these words of final judgment at Mark 9:48. In the synagogue, when this chapter is read, verse 23 is read again after verse 24.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
Just as I will transform all that is seen and will produce a new creation, so I will guard your memory forever—and not yours alone but all those who have believed through you.… He mentions a description of the city and the various dwellings of …
(Verse 24.) And they shall go forth, and see the bodies of the men who have transgressed against me. Their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be extinguished. And they shall be a vision to all flesh, even to the point of satiety. LXX likewise. All flesh that is to worship before the Lord, whether in heavenly Jerusalem or in any place where clean hands are raised, shall go forth to see the bodies of the dead men who have transgressed against God. What can be understood about the Jews, of whom it is said: I have begotten sons and exalted them, but they have rejected me; or about all those who, having knowledge of God in their hearts, have turned to vanity, worshiping the creature rather than the Creator. However, they will depart not from their place, but from their understanding. For the bodies of the dead cannot be in the presence of the Lord. But if all flesh is to worship the Lord, then, on the contrary, the bodies of men who have transgressed against the Lord will be delivered to eternal burnings. In this way, the resurrection of true flesh will occur on both sides. But the worm that does not die, and the fire that is not extinguished, is understood by many as the conscience of sins, which torments those set in punishments: why they have been deprived of the good of the elect by their own fault and sin, according to what is said: I am tormented in misery, while the thorn is fastened to me (Psalm XXXI, 4). And in Proverbs: The moth of the bones is the intelligent heart (Prov. XXV, 20). And again, under a disguise: Just as a moth to clothing, and a worm to wood, so grief tortures the heart of a man (Ibid.). Thus, while they do not deny the eternal punishments of the evildoers and those denying the Lord, as the Lord says in the Gospel: Go into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). […]
As people who have cut your souls off from this hope, it is necessary that you know how to obtain pardon of your sins and a hope of sharing in the promised blessings. There is no other way than this, that you come to know our Christ, be baptized with the baptism that cleanses you from sin (as Isaiah testified) and thus live a life free of sin.
These misfortunes piled on the Jews are meant to be the things we say happened to them at the hands of the Romans, when the temple was destroyed and all were subjected to cruel slaughter. For suffering such things they became a spectacle for all, but their suffering was not prolonged indefinitely. Yet this is what perhaps is meant when it says, "Their worm will not die nor the fire go out." Some, however, want to refer these words concerning them to the time of the end of the age.… In any case, Christ will deliver us from all such things, through whom and with whom may glory be to God the Father and the Holy Spirit forever.
If … we have any sense of our own salvation, let us, while we still have time, abandon evil ways, concern ourselves with virtue and despise vainglory.
8 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Philoxenus of Mabbug13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 6 -- First Discourse on the Fear of God · Written before 523.
proposed
Let us then study to fix the fear of God in our mind, and let us meditate thereupon by day and by night. If the fire of lust kindleth in us, let us set in opposition thereto the fire of Gehenna. If greediness of the …
The Medieval Church2 voices
And they shall go out. Here he sets out the following judgment as to the wicked. And first, the manifestation of the punishment: and they shall go out, coming to Jerusalem, and see, in the ancient sepulchers, and in the fields, the bones of their …
To this torment of fire will be joined torment according to all the senses; joined to it will be the punishment of the worm and the deprivation of the vision of God, so that in these punishments there will be variety, and with variety severity, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
3 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And they shall go forth,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
For their worm shall not die - These words of the prophet are applied by our blessed Savior, Mar 9:44, to express the everlasting punishment of the wicked in Gehenna, or in hell.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
14:2-4); type of the final destruction of all sinners. worm . . . not die-- (Mr 9:44, 46, 48). Image of hell, from bodies left unburied in the valley of Hinnom (whence comes Gehenna, or "hell"), south of Jerusalem, where a perpetual fire was kept to consume the refuse thrown there (Isa 30:33).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And they shall go forth - The sense of this verse evidently is, that the pious and happy worshippers of God shall see the punishment which he will execute on his and their foes, or shall see them finally destroyed. It refers to the time when the kingdom of God shall be finally and perpetually established, and when all the mighty enemies of that kingdom shall be subdued and punished. The image is probably taken from a scene where a people whose lands have been desolated by mighty armies are permitted to go forth after a decisive battle to walk over the fields of the slain, and to see the dead and the putrifying bodies of their once formidable enemies. And look upon the carcasses of the men - The dead bodies of the foes of God (see Isa 66:15-16). For their worm shall not die - This image is evidently taken from the condition of unburied bodies, and especially on a battlefield. The Hebrew word (תולע tôlâ‛) properly refers to the worms which are generated in such corrupting bodies (see Exo 16:20; the notes at Isa 14:11). It is sometimes applied to the worm from which the crimson or deep scarlet color was obtained (the notes at Isa 1:18); but it more properly denotes that which is produced in putrid substances. This entire passage is applied by the Saviour to future punishment; and is the fearful image which he employs to denote the final suffering of the wicked in hell. My views on its meaning may be seen in the notes at Mar 9:44, Mar 9:46. Neither shall their fire be quenched - The fire that shall consume them shall burn perpetually. This image is taken evidently from the fires kindled, especially in the valley of Hinnom, to consume puffed and decaying substances. That was a valley on the south side of Jerusalem, into which the filth of the city was thrown. […]
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיָצְא֣וּ | veyatzeu | and they will go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| וְרָא֔וּ | verau | and they will look | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| בְּפִגְרֵי֙ | befigrei | on [the] corpses of | H6297 → | 22 times |
| הָאֲנָשִׁ֔ים | haanashim | the people | H582 → | 566 times |
| הַפֹּשְׁעִ֖ים | haposheim | who rebelled | H6586 → | 41 times |
| בִּ֑י | bi | against me | ||
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תוֹלַעְתָּ֞ם | tola'tam | worm their | H8438 → | 43 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָמ֗וּת | tamut | it will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| וְאִשָּׁם֙ | veisham | and fire their | H784 → | 378 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִכְבֶּ֔ה | tikhbeh | it will be extinguished | H3518 → | 24 times |
| וְהָי֥וּ | vehayu | and they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| דֵרָא֖וֹן | deraon | an abhorrence | H1860 → | |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בָּשָֽׂר׃ | basar | flesh | H1320 → | 270 times |
וְיָצְא֣וּand they will go out
veyatzeuH3318 →1067 times
וְרָא֔וּand they will look
verauH7200 →1300 times
בְּפִגְרֵי֙on [the] corpses of
befigreiH6297 →22 times
הָאֲנָשִׁ֔יםthe people
haanashimH582 →566 times
הַפֹּשְׁעִ֖יםwho rebelled
haposheimH6586 →41 times
בִּ֑יagainst me
bi
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
תוֹלַעְתָּ֞םworm their
tola'tamH8438 →43 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תָמ֗וּתit will die
tamutH4191 →839 times
וְאִשָּׁם֙and fire their
veishamH784 →378 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִכְבֶּ֔הit will be extinguished
tikhbehH3518 →24 times
וְהָי֥וּand they will be
vehayuH1961 →3559 times
דֵרָא֖וֹןan abhorrence
deraonH1860 →
לְכָל־to all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
בָּשָֽׂר׃flesh
basarH1320 →270 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 21:8But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This…
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 6:9–10
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual…
- Revelation 2:11
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.
- Ephesians 5:5–6
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
- Revelation 22:15
But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
- Revelation 20:14–15
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9–10
Through
Daniel 12:2And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.
it leads to
- John 5:28–29
Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice
- Isaiah 26:19
Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her…
- Matthew 25:46
And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- John 5:28–29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies7
About Isaiah
This page draws on 16 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, On the Death of Satyrus 2.87; Bonaventure, Breviloquium, Part 7; Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 5:6.66:22-24; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 22:21; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Joseph Addison Alexander, Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter XLIV; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 6 -- First Discourse on the Fear of God; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:66.23-24 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.