The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Maccabees 05
1 The tyrant Antiochus, therefore, sitting
in public state with his assessors upon a
certain lofty place, with his armed troops
standing in a circle around him,
2 commanded his spearbearers to seize
every one of the Hebrews, and to compel
them to taste swine’s flesh and things
offered to idols.
3 Should any of them be unwilling to eat
the accursed food,they were to be tortured
on the wheel and so killed.
4 When many had been seized, a foremost man
of the assembly, a Hebrew, by name Eleazar,
a priest by family, by profession a lawyer,
and advanced in years, and for this
reasonknownto many ofthe king’s
followers, was brought near to him.
5 Antiochus, seeing him, said,
6 “I would counsel you, old man, before
your tortures begin, to taste the swine’s
flesh, and save your life; for I feel respect
for your age and hoary head, which since
you have had so long, you appear to me to
be no philosopher in retaining the
superstition of the Jews.
7 For therefore, since nature has
conferred upon you the most excellent flesh of
this animal, do you loathe it?
8 It seems senseless not to enjoy what
is pleasant, yet not disgraceful; and from
notions of sinfulness, to reject the gifts of
nature.
9 You will be acting, I think, still more
senselessly, if you follow vain conceits
about the truth.
10 You will, moreover, be despising me to
your own punishment.
11 Won’t you awake from your trifling
philosophy, give up the folly of your notions,
and regaining understanding worthy of
your age, search into the truth of an
expedient course?
12 Won’t you respect my kindly admonition
and have pity on your own years?
13 For bear in mind that if there is any
power which watches over this religion
of yours, it will pardon you for all
transgressions of the law which you commit
through compulsion.”
14 While the tyrant incited him in this
manner to the unlawful eating of meat,
Eleazar begged permission to speak.
15 Having received permission to speak,
he began to address the people as follows:
16 “We, O Antiochus, who are persuaded
that we live under a divine law, consider
no compulsion to be so forcible as
obedience to that law.
17 Therefore we consider that we ought
not to transgress the law in any way.
18 Indeed, were our law (as you suppose)
not truly divine, and if we wrongly think
it divine, we would have no right even in
that case to destroy our sense of religion.
19 Don’tthink that eating unclean meatis
a trifling offense.
20 For transgression of the law, whether
insmall or great matters, is of equalimportance;
21 for in either case the law is equally
slighted.
22 But you deride our philosophy, as
though we lived in it irrationally.
23 Yet it instructs us in self-control, so
that we are superior to all pleasures and
lusts; and it trains us in courage, so that we
cheerfully undergo every grievance.
24 It instructs us in justice, so that in
all our dealings we render what is due.
It teaches us piety, so that we properly
worship the one and only God.
25 That is why we don’t eat the unclean;
for believing that the law was established
by God, we are convinced that the Creator
of the world, in giving his laws,
sympathizes with our nature.
26 Those things which are suitable for
our souls, he has directed us to eat; but
those which are not, he has forbidden.
27 But, tyrant-like, you not only force us
to break the law, but also to eat, that you
may ridicule us as we thus profanely eat.
28 But you won’t have this cause oflaughter against me,
29 nor will I transgress the sacred oaths
of my forefathers to keep the law.
30 No, not if you pluck out my eyes, and
consume my entrails.
31 I am not so old, and void of courage as
to not be youthful in reason and in defense
of my religion.
32 Now then, prepare your wheels, and
kindle a fiercer flame.
33 I will not so pity my old age, as on my
account to break the law of my country.
34 I will not play false to you, O law, my
instructor, or forsake you, O beloved selfcontrol!
35 I will not put you to shame, O philosopher
Reason, or deny you, O honored
priesthood and knowledge of the law.
36 Mouth! You shall not pollute my old
age, nor the full stature of a perfect life.
37 My ancestors will receive me as pure,
not having feared your compulsion, even
to death.
38 For you will rule like a tyrant over
the ungodly, but you will not lord it over
my thoughts about religion, either by your
arguments, or through deeds.”