2 Maccabees 6–7

6Shortly after this the king sent an old Athenian to compel the Jews to depart from the laws of their fathers, and to cease living by the laws of God; further, the sanctuary in Jerusalem was to be polluted and called after Zeus Olympius, while the sanctuary at Gerizim was also to be called after Zeus Xenius, in keeping with the hospitable character of the inhabitants. Now this proved a sore and altogether crushing visitation of evil. For the heathen filled the temple with riot and revelling, dallying with harlots and lying with women inside the sacred precincts, besides bringing in what was forbidden, while the altar was filled with abominable sacrifices which the law prohibited. And a man could neither keep the sabbath, nor celebrate the feasts of the fathers, nor so much as confess himself to be a Jew. On the king’s birthday every month they were taken—bitter was the necessity—to share in the sacrifice, and when the festival of the Dionysia came round they were compelled to wear ivy wreaths for the procession in honour of Dionysus. On the suggestion of Ptolemy, an edict was also issued to the neighbouring Greek cities, ordering them to treat the Jews in the same way and force them to share in the sacrifices, slaying any who refused to adopt Greek ways. Thus any one could see the distressful state of affairs. Two women, for example, were brought up for having circumcised their children; they were paraded round the city, with their babies hanging at their breasts, and then flung from the top of the wall. Some others, who had taken refuge in the adjoining caves in order to keep the seventh day secretly, were betrayed to Philip and all burnt together, since they scrupled to defend themselves, out of regard to the honour of that most solemn day.

Now I beseech the readers of this book not to be discouraged by such calamities, but to reflect that our people were being punished by way of chastening and not for their destruction. For indeed it is a mark of great kindness when the impious are not let alone for a long time, but punished at once. In the case of other nations, the Sovereign Lord in his forbearance refrains from punishing them till they have filled up their sins to the full, but in our case he has determined otherwise, that his vengeance may not fall on us in after-days when our sins have reached their height. Wherefore he never withdraweth his mercy from us; and though he chasteneth his own people with calamity, he forsaketh them not. So much by way of a reminder to ourselves; after these few words we must come back to our story.

Eleazar, one of the principal scribes, a man already well stricken in years and of a noble countenance, was compelled to eat swine’s flesh. But he, welcoming death with renown rather than life with pollution, advanced of his own accord to the instrument of torture, affording an example of how men should come forward who have the courage to put from them food which, even for the natural love of life, they dare not taste. Now those in charge of that forbidden sacrificial feast took the man aside, for the sake of old acquaintance, and privately urged him to bring some flesh of his own providing, such as he was lawfully allowed to use, and to pretend he was really eating of the sacrifice which the king had ordered, so that in this way he might escape death and be kindly treated for the sake of their old friendship. But he with a high resolve, worthy of his years and of the dignity of his descent and of his grey hair reached with honour and of his noble life from childhood and, still more, of the holy laws divinely ordained, spoke his mind accordingly, telling them to dispatch him to Hades at once. ‘It ill becomes our years to dissemble,’ said he, ‘and thus lead many younger persons to imagine that Eleazar in his ninetieth year has gone over to a heathenish religion. I should lead them astray by my dissimulation, for the mere sake of enjoying this brief and momentary life, and I should bring stain and foul disgrace on my own old age. Even were I for the moment to evade the punishment of men, I should not escape the hands of the Almighty in life or in death. Wherefore, by manfully parting with my life now, I will show myself worthy of my old age, and leave behind me a noble example to the young of how to die willingly and nobly on behalf of our reverend and holy laws. With these words he stepped forward at once to the instrument of torture, while those who a moment before had been friendly turned against him, deeming his language to be that of a sheer madman. Now, just as he was expiring under the strokes of torture, he groaned out, The Lord, who hath holy knowledge, understandeth that, although I might have been freed from death, I endure cruel pains in my body from scourging and suffer this gladly in my soul, because I fear him.’ Thus he too died, leaving his death as an example of nobility and a memorial of virtue, not only to the young but also to the great body of his nation.

7It also came to pass that seven brothers and their mother were arrested and shamefully lashed with whips and scourges, by the king’s orders, that they might be forced to taste the abominable swine’s flesh. But one of them spoke up for the others and said, Why question us? What wouldst thou learn from us? We are prepared to die sooner than transgress the laws of our fathers. Then the king, in his exasperation, ordered pans and cauldrons to be heated, and, when they were heated immediately, ordered the tongue of the speaker to be torn out, had him scalped and mutilated before the eyes of his brothers and mother, and then had him put on the fire, all maimed and crippled as he was, but still alive, and set to fry in the pan. And as the vapour from the pan spread abroad, they and their mother exhorted one another to die nobly, uttering these words: The Lord God beholdeth this, and truly hath compassion on us, even as Moses declared in his Song which testifieth against them to their face, saying,

And he shall have compassion on his servants.

And when the first had died after this manner, they brought the second to the shameful torture, tearing off the skin of his head with the hair and asking him, Wilt thou eat, before we punish thy body limb by limb? But he answered in the language of his fathers and said to them, No. So he too underwent the rest of the torture, as the first had done. And when he was at the last gasp, he said, Thou cursed miscreant! Thou dost dispatch us from this life, but the King of the world shall raise us up, who have died for his laws, and revive us to life everlasting. And after him the third was made a mocking-stock. And when he was told to put out his tongue, he did so at once, stretching forth his hands courageously, with the noble words, These I had from heaven; for His name’s sake I count them naught; from Him I hope to get them back again. So much so that the king himself and his company were astounded at the spirit of the youth, for he thought nothing of his sufferings. And when he too was dead, they tortured the fourth in the same shameful fashion. And when he was near his end, he said: ’Tis meet for those who perish at men’s hands to cherish hope divine that they shall be raised up by God again; but thou—thou shalt have no resurrection to life. Next they brought the fifth and handled him shamefully. But he looked at the king and said, Holding authority among men, thou doest what thou wilt, poor mortal; but dream not that God hath forsaken our race. Go on, and thou shalt find how His sovereign power will torture thee and thy seed! And after him they brought the sixth. And when he was at the point of death he said, Deceive not thyself in vain! We are suffering this on our own account, for sins against our own God. That is why these awful horrors have befallen us. But think not thou shalt go unpunished for daring to fight against God! The mother, however, was a perfect wonder; she deserves to be held in glorious memory, for, thanks to her hope in God, she bravely bore the sight of seven sons dying in a single day. Full of noble spirit and nerving her weak woman’s heart with the courage of a man, she exhorted each of them in the language of their fathers, saying, How you were ever conceived in my womb, I cannot tell! ’Twas not I who gave you the breath of life or 23 fashioned the elements of each! ’Twas the Creator of the world who fashioneth men and deviseth the generating of all things, and he it is who in mercy will restore to you the breath of life even as you now count yourselves naught for his laws’ sake. Now Antiochus felt that he was being humiliated, but, overlooking the taunt of her words, he made an appeal to the youngest brother, who still survived, and even promised on oath to make him rich and happy and a Friend and a trusted official of State, if he would give up his fathers’ laws. As the young man paid no attention to him, he summoned his mother and exhorted her to counsel the lad to save himself. So, after he had exhorted her at length, she agreed to persuade her son. She leant over to him and, befooling the cruel tyrant, spoke thus in her fathers’ tongue: My son, have pity on me. Nine months I carried thee in my womb, three years I suckled thee; I reared thee and brought thee up to this age of thy life. Child, I beseech thee, lift thine eyes to heaven and earth, look at all that is therein, and know that God did not make them out of the things that existed. So is the race of men created. Fear not this butcher, but show thyself worthy of thy brothers, and accept thy death, that by God’s mercy I may receive thee again together with thy brothers. Ere she had finished, the young man cried, What are you waiting for? I will not obey the king’s command, I will obey the command of the law given by Moses to our fathers. But thou, who hast devised all manner of evil against the Hebrews, thou shalt not escape the hands of God. We are suffering for our own sins, and though our…