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MARK 9:48 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
Mark 9:47Mark 9:49
“Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
Where the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched — the Isaiah 66:24 citation is the scriptural grounding for the hell imagery: the place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched is the valley of Gehenna south of Jerusalem, used as a burning rubbish heap and associated with the site of child sacrifice to Molech (Jeremiah 7:31). The undying worm and unquenched fire are not descriptions of the mechanism of hell but images of its endless and total destructiveness.

Church Fathers on Mark 9:48

Because the Lord had taught us not to offend those who believe on Him, He now as next in order warns us how much we should beware of those who offend us, that is, who by their words or conduct strive to drag us into the perdition of sin; wherefore He says, 'And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off.'

Bede · 8th century

Or else, 'It is better for thee to enter into life maimed,' that is, without the chief place, for which you have wished, than having two hands to go into eternal fire. The two hands for high station are humility and pride; cut off pride, keeping to the estate of lowliness.

Pseudo-Jerome · 5th century

But those who hold that both of these, namely, the fire and the worm, belong to the pains of the soul, and not of the body, say also that those who are separated from the kingdom of God are tortured, as with fire, by the pangs of a soul repenting too late and hopelessly; and they not unfitly contend that fire may be put for that burning grief, as says the Apostle, 'Who is offended, and I burn not?' [2 Cor 11:29]

Augustine · 4th century · de Civ. Dei, 21, 9
Read all 15 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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Mark 9:48 — Community Reflections | HolyStudy