2 Maccabees 7
A king compelled seven brothers and their mother to eat swine's flesh against divine law, but they refused, choosing to die instead. Each brother was tortured and killed, with the mother encouraging them to remain faithful to God's laws. The brothers declared that God would raise them up in eternal life at the resurrection, and they died one by one, each affirming their faith and warning the king of his own punishment. The mother also died, having encouraged her sons to remain faithful, and the king was left to face God's judgment.
1And it happened also that seven brothers, united with their mother, were apprehended and compelled by the king to eat the flesh of swine against divine law, being tormented with scourges and whips2But one of them, who was first, spoke in this way: "What would you ask, or what would you want to learn from us? We are ready to die, rather than to betray the laws that our fathers received from God.3And so the king, being angry, ordered frying pans and bronze caldrons to be heated. When these were presently heated4he ordered the tongue of him who had spoken first to be cut off, and, once the skin of his head had been pulled off, likewise his hands and feet to be cut off at the top, while the rest of his brothers and his mother were watching5And when now he had been made helpless in all parts, he commanded him to be moved to the fire, and, while still breathing, to be fried in the frying pan. As he was suffering long torments therein, the rest, united with the mother, exhorted one another to die with fortitude6saying: "The Lord God will perceive the truth, and he will be consoled in us, in the way that Moses declared in the profession of the canticle: ‘And in his servants, he will be consoled.’ 7And so, when the first had died in this way, they led in the next one, so as to ridicule him. And when the skin of his head was pulled off with the hair, they asked him if he would eat, instead of being punished throughout the whole body in every limb8But responding in the language of his fathers, he said, "I will not do it." Because of this, he also, in the next place, received the torments of the first9And when he had reached his last breath, he spoke in this way: "You, indeed, O most wicked man, are destroying us in this present life. But the King of the world will raise us up, in eternal life at the resurrection, for we die on behalf of his laws.10After this one, the third was ridiculed, and when he was asked, he quickly offered up his tongue, and he resolutely extended his hands11And he said with confidence, "I possess these from heaven, but, because of the laws of God, I now despise them, for I hope to receive them again from him.12So then, the king and those who were with him, wondered at the soul of this youth, because he considered the torments as if they were nothing13And after he had died in this way, they afflicted the fourth with similar tortures14And when he was about to die, he spoke in this way: "It is preferable, being put to death by men, to wait for hope from God, so as to be revived again by him. But the resurrection to life will not be for you15And when they had brought the fifth, they afflicted him. But he, gazing at him16said: "Having power among men, though you are corruptible, you do what you want, but do not think that our nation has been abandoned by God17And so, wait patiently for a while, and you will see his great power, by the manner in which he will torture you and your offspring.18After this one, they brought the sixth, and he, being about to die, spoke in this way: "Do not go astray in vain. For we suffer because of ourselves, having sinned against our God, yet things worthy of admiration have been accomplished in us19But do not consider that you will be without punishment, for you have attempted to fight against God.20Now the mother was wonderful beyond measure, and a worthy memorial of the good, for she watched her seven sons perish within the time of one day, and she bore it with a good soul, because of the hope that she had in God21And, with fortitude, she exhorted every one of them, in the language of the fathers, being filled with wisdom. And, joining masculine courage with feminine thinking22she said to them: "I do not know how you were formed in my womb. For I did not give you spirit, nor soul, nor life; neither did I construct each of your limbs23Nevertheless, the Creator of the world, who formed the nativity of man, and who founded the origins of all, will restore both spirit and life to you again, with his mercy, just as you now despise yourselves for the sake of his laws.24But Antiochus, thinking himself despised, and at the same time also despising the voice of the reproacher, when only the youngest was still left, not only exhorted him with words, but also assured him with an oath, that he would make him wealthy and happy, and, if he would convert from the laws of his fathers, he would have him as a friend, and he would provide him with necessary things25But, when the youth was not swayed by these things, the king called the mother and persuaded her to act toward the youth to save him26And so, when he had exhorted her with many words, she promised that she would counsel her son27Then, leaning towards him and mocking the cruel tyrant, she said in the language of the fathers: "My son, take pity on me, for I carried you for nine months in my womb, and I gave you milk for three years, and I nourished you and led you through to this stage of life28I ask you, child, gaze upon heaven and earth, and all that is in them, and understand that God made them, and the family of man, out of nothing29So shall it be that you will not fear this executioner, but, participating worthily with your brothers, you shall accept death, so that, by this mercy, I shall receive you again with your brothers.30While she was still saying these things, the youth said: "What are you waiting for? I will not obey the precepts of the king, but the precepts of the law, which was given to us through Moses31In truth, you, who have been the inventor of all malice against the Hebrews, will not escape the hand of God32For we suffer these things because of our sins33And if, for the sake of our chastisement and correction, the Lord our God is angry with us for a little while, yet still he will be reconciled again to his servants34But as for you, O wicked and most disgraceful of all men, do be not be extolled over nothing, with vain hopes, while you are inflamed against his servants35For you have not yet escaped the judgment of Almighty God, who examines all things36Therefore, my brothers, having now sustained brief sorrow, have been brought under the covenant of eternal life. But, in truth, you, by the judgment of God, will be released into just punishment for your arrogance37But I, like my brothers, deliver up my soul and my body for the sake of the laws of the fathers, calling upon God so as to bring forgiveness upon our nation sooner, and so that you, with torments and lashings, may confess that he alone is God38Truly, in me and in my brothers, the wrath of the Almighty, which has been led over all our people justly, shall cease.39Then the king, burning with anger, raged against this one with cruelty beyond all the rest, bearing it indignantly that he himself was derided40And so this one also died in purity, trusting in the Lord through all things41Then, last of all, after the sons, the mother also was consumed42Therefore, about the sacrifices and about the exceedingly great cruelties, enough has been said
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