4 Maccabees

4 Maccabees 18

A Word to the Children of Israel

1 Children of Israel, descendants of Abraham’s seed: obey this law, and be devout in every way, 2 knowing that devout reason is master of the passions — and not only of the passions inside a man, but of pains that come at him from outside.

3 That is why the men who handed over their bodies to pain for devoutness were not only admired by other men but were counted worthy of a divine portion. 4 Because of them the nation had peace. They made the good order of the law new again in their homeland, and took their enemies by storm. 5 And Antiochus the ruler was punished on earth, and now that he is dead he is being punished still. When he found that nothing he did could force the people of Jerusalem to take up foreign ways and give up the customs of their fathers, he broke camp, left Jerusalem, and marched against the Persians.

The Mother’s Own Story

6 The mother of the seven sons spoke these rules to her children as well:

7 “I was a pure virgin, and I never went outside my father’s house. I kept guard over the rib that was built. 8 No ravager of the wilderness, no corrupter out in the open field, ever ruined me; and the snake, the ravager whose weapon is deceit, did nothing to spoil what was pure in my virginity. 9 I stayed with my husband through the years of my prime. When these boys were grown, their father died — a blessed man. He lived out his life with good children around him and never had to suffer the season of having none.

What Their Father Taught Them

10 While he was still with you, he taught you the law and the prophets.

11 He read you Abel, killed by Cain,

and Isaac, offered up whole,

and Joseph in prison.

12 He told you of Phinehas, the man who burned with zeal,

and taught you Hananiah and Azariah and Mishael in the fire.

13 He honored Daniel in the lions’ pit, and called him blessed.

14 He reminded you of what Isaiah wrote:

‘Even if you pass through fire, the flame will not burn you up.’

15 He sang you David, the writer of hymns:

‘Many are the afflictions of the righteous.’

16 He gave you Solomon’s proverb:

‘It is a tree of life to all who do his will.’

17 He set Ezekiel before you as one to be trusted:

‘Will these dry bones live?’

18 And he did not forget the song Moses taught. He taught you that too, the song that says:

19 ‘I will kill and I will make alive.

This is your life and the length of your days.’”

The Last Word

20 That day was bitter — and yet not bitter — when the bitter ruler of the Greeks put fire out with fire in his cruel cauldrons and, with his anger at the boil, brought the seven sons of the daughter of Abraham to the catapult and back again to his tortures. 21 He blinded the pupils of their eyes, cut out their tongues, and killed them with one torture after another. 22 For all of it, divine justice has come after that ruler, the accursed one, and will come after him still.

23 But the sons of Abraham, with the mother who carried off the prize, are gathered into the company of their fathers, having received back from God souls pure and immortal. 24 To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.