worm / maggot

In English, “worm” is a fairly general word, while “grub” refers to worms and insect larvae that eat fruit and some vegetables such as beans. “Maggot” refers to the worm-like larvae flies and beetles, which feed on decaying meat or flesh. The Hebrew words tole‘ah and tola‘ath are fairly general terms for worms of all kinds, regardless of what the worms eat.

In Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers there occurs the phrase tola‘ath shani, literally “worm of scarlet”. The Hebrew name indicates both a scarlet color and the dye producing this color. The dye is made from the kermes insect Coccus ilicis, which was found in the Ararat region. The dye was traded by the Phoenicians, who carried it to the Middle East, North Africa, southern Europe, Mesopotamia, and even further.

Unlike the more general words tole‘ah and tola‘ath, rimah and its Greek equivalent skōlēx refer exclusively in the Bible to flesh-eating worms, in other words, maggots. The use of “worm” and “vermin” in modern English versions is motivated by the fact that to say that one’s own body is covered with maggots is repulsive and impolite in English culture. It may not be in other cultures.

Worms, grubs, and maggots are small, soft, legless, tube-shaped creatures that have no bones or shells. They typically feed on overripe fruit, rotting meat, and similar things. Most are actually larvae that hatch from the eggs laid by flies or some beetles. Most of them mature into pupae and then into adult forms of the parent insects.

In the Bible worms and maggots are symbols of uncleanness, decay and insignificance. In Psalms 22:6 and Isaiah 41:14 the word tola‘ath signifies a very insignificant human being or even nation. Where comparing a person with a worm or maggot will not convey the same meaning, it may be possible to find some other insect which symbolizes insignificance. Where no such comparison exists, it will be necessary to follow something like “weak and helpless as a worm.”

Maggots were a symbol of uncleanness, decay, and death. In Job 25:6 the maggot is symbolic of a repulsive, insignificant person.

Worms and maggots are found universally, and finding equivalents should not be too hard. However, in many languages there are specific words for different kinds of worms or maggots, but no generic word that includes them all. In such cases the individual contexts should guide the translator. When the reference is to worms destroying grapes or olives, a suitable word for such a context should be found; when the reference is to maggots that feed on corpses, a suitable word for these contexts should be used. It is more important to translate appropriately for a given context than it is to translate one Hebrew or Greek word the same way every time.

The use of a word for a flesh-eating worm or maggot is appropriate for all contexts.

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

complete verse (Isaiah 66:24)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 66:24:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then those people shall see the corpses of the people who rebel against me. The insects that eat those people shall never get finished and the fire that burns them shall not go out. This shall be something very bad for every person.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “And having come out they will come to see the corpses of people who have rebelled against me [lit.: been stubborn against me]. Their worms will not die, their fire will not die, and they will be repulsive to all people and nations.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “And while the ones who-have-worshipped there are-coming-out of Jerusalem, they will-see the corpses of the people who have-rebelled against me. The worms that are-eating them will- not -die, and the fire that are-burning them will- not also -be-quenched. And all the people will-detest them.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then they will go out of Jerusalem and look at the corpses of those who rebelled against me. The maggots in those corpses will never die, the fire will never stop burning them, and everyone who sees their corpses will detest them.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Isaiah 66:24

The final verse of this magnificent book speaks of punishment and destruction. The positive tone of the previous verse is lost in this negative view. Verse 24 returns to the theme with which the book began in 1.2, that of rebellion. This suggests to many commentators that the final verse was written expressly to close the entire message. The verse also has a strong apocalyptic tone in its second half, which provides a link to the preceding verse.

New Jerusalem Bible notes that it was the custom in synagogues when reading this passage, to repeat the promise of verse 23 after verse 24, rather than finish with these negative words. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh actually does this in its text.

And they shall go forth and look on the dead bodies of the men that have rebelled against me: The pronoun they refers to God’s faithful people, who could include both Jews and foreigners. The text does not state from where they shall go forth. It could be from the Temple or from the city of Jerusalem. Good News Translation suggests that they will leave the Temple after worship by beginning this verse with “As they leave.” They will go to look to view the corpses of those who have rebelled against the LORD. Look on has the sense of gloating over or enjoying in this context. If they are coming from Jerusalem, the corpses of the rebels are probably in the rubbish dump of the Hinnom Valley just outside the city (see the comments on 30.33).

For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched: This graphic, apocalyptic picture of the endless fate of the rebels contrasts with the endless worship offered by the faithful (verse 23). Although the rebels have died, they will continue to suffer. Mark 9.48 copies this imagery. The Hebrew particle ki rendered for may be a logical connector or an emphatic marker here. Good News Translation and New International Version leave it implied. Their worm shall not die pictures the physical decomposition of the rebels’ corpses as a process that goes on forever. The Hebrew word for worm refers to maggots in this context. Their fire shall not be quenched pictures their corpses burning forever on the rubbish heap. Good News Translation renders these two lines clearly by saying “The worms that eat them will never die, and the fire that burns them will never be put out” (similarly Bible en français courant).

And they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh means that everyone will detest their corpses. The Hebrew noun rendered abhorrence refers to something that is hated. For this clause Revised English Bible has “All mankind will view them with horror,” and Good News Translation says “The sight of them will be disgusting to all people.”

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• “People will go outside and observe the corpses
of those who rebelled against me;
for the worms that consume these corpses will not die,
the fire that burns them will never go out,
and they will be hated by everyone.”

• “People will go out to view the corpses
of those who rebelled against me.
The worms that eat the corpses will never die,
the fire that burns them will never go out,
and everyone will detest them.”

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .