May 11 - 2 Maccabees 7-8
2 Maccabees
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
1In truth, Judas Maccabeus, and those who were with him, went secretly into the villages, and, calling together their relatives and friends, and accepting among them those who persevered in Judaism, they brought six thousand men together2And they called upon the Lord: to look upon his people, who were down trodden by all; and to take pity on the temple, which was defiled by the impius3and even to take pity on the city by utter destruction, for it was willing to be immediately leveled to the ground; and to hear the voice of the blood that was crying out to him4so that he would remember also the most iniquitous deaths of the innocent little ones, and the blasphemies brought upon his name; and to show his indignation over these things5And so Maccabeus, having gathered together a multitude, could not be withstood by the Gentiles. For the wrath of the Lord had turned into mercy6And so, overwhelming the towns and cities unexpectedly, he set them on fire. And, occupying strategic positions, he made no small slaughter of the enemies7Moreover, especially in the nights, he carried out expeditions in this way. And the fame of his virtuous strength was spread abroad everywhere8Then Philip, seeing that the man gained ground little by little, and that things frequently fell out in his favor, wrote to Ptolemy, governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, to send auxiliaries to carry out the work of the king9And so, he quickly sent Nicanor, son of Patroclus, from his foremost friends, providing him with no less than twenty thousand armed men from throughout the Gentiles, to wipe out the entire race of the Jews, joining with him Gorgias, a military man with very great experience in the things of warfare10Moreover, Nicanor decided to raise a tribute for the king of two thousand talents, which was to be given to the Romans, and which would be supplied by means of the captivity of the Jews11And immediately he sent to the maritime cities, calling them to the auction of the Jewish slaves, promising them a parcel of ninety slaves for one talent, not reflecting on the vengeance which would befall him subsequently from the Almighty12Then, when Judas learned that Nicanor was approaching, he revealed it to those Jews who were with him13And certain ones among them, being afraid and not trusting in the justice of God, turned and fled away14In truth, others sold all that was in excess, and together beseeched the Lord, that he would rescue them from the impious Nicanor, who had sold them before he even came near them15and if not for their sakes, then for the sake of the covenant which was made with their fathers, and for the sake of the invocation of his holy and magnificent name over them16But Maccabeus, calling together seven thousand who were with him, asked them not to be reconciled to the enemies, and not to fear the multitude of the enemies who came against them unjustly, but to struggle with fortitude17holding before their eyes the contempt that had been brought upon the holy place by them, and likewise also the mockery which they held to the injury of the city, even to the extent of overthrowing the institutions of old18For he said that these, indeed, trust in their weapons, as well as in their boldness; but we trust in the Almighty Lord, who is able to wipe out both those coming against us, and even the whole world, with one nod19Moreover, he reminded them also of the assistance of God which their parents had received; and how, under Sennacherib, one hundred and eighty-five thousand had perished20and of the battle by them, which was against the Galatians in Babylonia, how, when the event had arrived and the allies of the Macedonians hesitated, though they were only six thousand in all, yet they slew one hundred and twenty thousand, because of the help provided to them from heaven; and how, for the sake of these things, very many benefits followed21By these words, they were brought to constancy and were prepared to die for the laws and their nation22And so, he appointed his brothers as leaders over each division: Simon, and Joseph, and Jonathan, subjecting one thousand and five hundred men to each of them23And at that point, the holy book having been read to them by Esdras, and having given them a sign of the assistance of God, with himself leading the first point, he joined battle with Nicanor24And, with the Almighty as their helper, they slew over nine thousand men. Furthermore, having wounded and disabled the greater part of the army of Nicanor, they forced them to take flight25In fact, they took away the money from those who came to buy them, and they pursued them everywhere26But they turned back at the close of the hour, for it was before the Sabbath. For this reason, they did not continue the pursuit27But, having gathered together their weapons and spoils, they kept the Sabbath, blessing the Lord who had delivered them in that day, showering the beginning of mercy on them28In truth, after the Sabbath, they divided the spoils to the disabled, and the orphans, and the widows, and the remainder they kept for themselves and their own29And so, when these things were done, and supplication was made by all in common, they asked the merciful Lord to be reconciled to his servants unto the end30And, among those who were fighting against them with Timothy and Bacchides, they slew more than twenty thousand, and they obtained the high fortresses, and they divided many spoils, making equal portions for the disabled, the fatherless, and the widows, and even the aged31And when they had carefully collected their weapons, they stored them all in strategic places, and, in truth, the remainder of the spoils they carried to Jerusalem32And they put to death Philarches, a wicked man, who was with Timothy, who had brought many afflictions upon the Jews33And when they celebrated the song of victory at Jerusalem, they burned him who had set fire to the sacred doors, that is, Callisthenes, when he had taken refuge in a certain house, repaying him a worthy reward for his impieties34But as for that most vicious Nicanor, who had led in a thousand merchants for the sale of the Jews35he was brought low with the help of the Lord, and by those whom he considered to be worthless. Putting aside the glorious vestments, fleeing by an inland route, he arrived alone at Antioch, having been brought to the greatest unhappiness by the destruction of his army36And he who had promised to pay a tribute to the Romans from the captives of Jerusalem, now professed that the Jews had God as their protector, and, for this reason, they were invulnerable, because they followed the laws established by him