Discovery BoxIsaiah 66:4-6 
Context66:4 So I will choose severe punishment 1 for them;
I will bring on them what they dread,
because I called, and no one responded,
I spoke and they did not listen.
They did evil before me; 2
they chose to do what displeases me.”
66:5 Hear the word of the Lord,
you who respect what he has to say! 3
Your countrymen, 4 who hate you
and exclude you, supposedly for the sake of my name,
say, “May the Lord be glorified,
then we will witness your joy.” 5
But they will be put to shame.
66:6 The sound of battle comes from the city;
the sound comes from the temple!
It is the sound of the Lord paying back his enemies.
Isaiah 66:24
Context66:24 “They will go out and observe the corpses of those who rebelled against me, for the maggots that eat them will not die, 6 and the fire that consumes them will not die out. 7 All people will find the sight abhorrent.” 8
1 tn The precise meaning of the noun is uncertain. It occurs only here and in 3:4 (but see the note there). It appears to be derived from the verbal root עָלַל (’alal), which can carry the nuance “deal severely.”
2 tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”
3 tn Heb “who tremble at his word.”
4 tn Heb “brothers” (so NASB, NIV); NRSV “Your own people”; NLT “Your close relatives.”
5 tn Or “so that we might witness your joy.” The point of this statement is unclear.
6 tn Heb “for their worm will not die.”
7 tn Heb “and their fire will not be extinguished.”
8 tn Heb “and they will be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
sn This verse depicts a huge mass burial site where the seemingly endless pile of maggot-infested corpses are being burned.
