A Brave Mother

1 King Antiochus once arrested seven Jewish brothers and their mother. He had them beaten with heavy whips and tried to make them eat the meat of pigs, which is against our laws. 2But one of the brothers spoke up and said, "Why are you torturing us like this? We will die before we disobey the laws of our ancestors!"

3This made the king so angry that he ordered his men to heat up big pots and pans, 4and they quickly did this. Meanwhile, the king forced the boy's family to watch him being tortured. Some soldiers cut out his tongue, then scalped him and chopped off his hands and feet, 5making him completely helpless. While the boy was still alive, the king told his soldiers, "Carry him to one of the big pans on the fire and fry him."

When smoke from the pan started spreading everywhere, the brothers and their mother each said, "Let's die bravely! 6 The Lord God will have pity on us, because he always takes care of his servants, just as Moses said in the song he wrote to correct our rebellious ancestors."

7When the first brother was dead, the soldiers grabbed the second brother. They made fun of him and scalped him. Then they asked, "Wouldn't you rather eat some meat from a pig than to be slowly tortured to death?"

8In his native language the boy replied, "No!" Then the soldiers tortured him, just as they had done to the first brother.

9When the second brother was almost dead, he said to the king, "How can you be so cruel? Even if you kill us, the King of this world will raise us to life. And then we will live forever, because we died, rather than deny our faith."

10When he died, they started torturing the third brother and shouted, "Stick out your tongue!"

He immediately obeyed and bravely stretched out his arms as well. 11He had a lot of courage and said, "God in heaven gave these to me. But I will give them up to obey his laws, because I know God will give them back."

12The king and his troops were amazed at the young man's courage. Here was someone willing to suffer.

13After he was dead, the king's troops beat and tortured the fourth brother in the same way. 14But just before he died, he told them, "God has promised to raise us to life! And so we are willing to die, but you have no hope for life after death."

15As the fifth brother was being tortured, 16he looked straight at the king and said, "You order people around and make them obey you. But someday you will die. Don't think God has turned his back on our nation. 17Just wait! God will use his mighty power to make you and your family suffer."

18Next, they tortured the sixth brother. He was almost dead when he told the men, "Don't fool yourselves! We're suffering all these terrible things because we have disobeyed our God. 19Now you're fighting against God, so don't think that you won't be punished too."

20The mother of these young men was a wonderful woman, and she deserves to be remembered with praise. She saw all seven of her sons die on the same day, but she was brave and never stopped trusting the Lord. 21She was a very special person, and with the feelings of a woman and the courage of a man, she encouraged each of her sons by telling them in their native language:

22My son, I don't understand how you grew inside me. I am not the one who gave you life and breath or shaped your bodies. 23You are sacrificing your life to obey the laws of the God who created this world and all of its people. But God will be merciful and give life and breath back to you.

24From the way the mother was talking, King Antiochus could tell she was insulting him and sneering at him. The youngest son was still alive. So Antiochus made all kinds of promises to the boy and tried to make him change his mind. He said, "If you will forget about the teachings of your ancestors, I will make you rich and respected. You will be one of my trusted friends and a government official."

25-26When the boy refused to listen, the king turned to the mother, urging her to make the boy change his mind. Finally, she agreed 27and leaned toward her son. She spoke in her native language and mocked the cruel king:

My son, have pity on me! Even before you were born, you grew inside my body for nine months. Then I nursed you at my breast for three years. And until this very day, I have looked after you and taken care of you.

28Now, I beg you to look at the heavens and the earth and think about what you see. God made all of this out of nothing, and he made us humans in the same way.

29Don't be afraid of this butcher! Die willingly and show that you are just like your brothers. Then God will have pity and give you back to me on the day he gives me your brothers.

30While the mother was still speaking, the boy said to the king:

What are you waiting for? I'm not going to obey your orders! I only obey God's teachings that Moses gave to our ancestors.

31You have caused terrible troubles for our people, but you won't escape the punishment God will send on you. 32-33We have disobeyed God and made him angry with us. So for a little while the living Lord is letting us suffer because he wants to correct us and teach us to do right. But we are still his servants, and he will soon forgive us.

34King Antiochus, you're the most disgusting and godless creature that ever lived. Stop acting so high and mighty, and stop making foolish promises to yourself as you torture God's people. 35You will never escape God All-Powerful! He sees everything and will punish you.

36 My brothers stayed faithful to our sacred agreement with God. So for a little while they had to suffer. Now, however, they have drunk the water that gives eternal life. But because of your pride, God will judge you and punish you as you deserve. 37I am willing to die along with my brothers for the laws of our ancestors. Meanwhile, I pray that God will soon forgive our people and show us mercy. I also pray that he will punish you so severely that you will finally confess that the Lord alone is God.

38God All-Powerful was right to be angry with our whole nation. But I pray that his anger will end with the sufferings that my brothers and I are going through.

39When Antiochus realized that the boy was mocking him, he became more furious than ever and tortured him worse than the others. 40So the boy died, completely trusting the Lord and still faithful to his beliefs.

41 Last of all, the king put their mother to death.

42Enough said about eating sacrifices and being tortured.