Chapter 6
¹ When Eleazar had in this manner answered the exhortations of the tyrant, the spearbearers came up, and rudely haled Eleazar to the instruments of torture. ² And first, they stripped the old man, adorned as he was with the comeliness of piety. ³ Then tying back his arms and hands, they disdainfully used him with stripes; ⁴ a herald opposite crying out, Obey the commands of the king.
4Mac 6:1-4
⁵ But Eleazar, the high-minded and truly noble, as one tortured in a dream, regarded it not at all. ⁶ But raising his eyes on high to heaven, the old man’s flesh was stripped off by the scourges, and his blood streamed down, and his sides were pierced through. ⁷ And falling upon the ground, from his body having no power to support the pains, he yet kept his reasoning upright and unbending. ⁸ Then one of the harsh spearbearers leaped upon his belly as he was falling, to force him upright.
4Mac 6:5-8
⁹ But he endured the pains, and despised the cruelty, and persevered through the indignities; ¹⁰ and like a noble athlete, the old man, when struck, vanquished his torturers. ¹¹ His countenance sweating, and he panting for breath, he was admired by the very torturers for his courage.
4Mac 6:9-11
¹² Wherefore, partly in pity for his old age, ¹³ partly from the sympathy of acquaintance, and partly in admiration of his endurance, some of the attendants of the king said, ¹⁴ Why do you unreasonably destroy yourself, O Eleazar, with these miseries? ¹⁵ We will bring you some meat cooked by yourself, and do you save yourself by pretending that you have eaten swine’s flesh.
4Mac 6:12-15
¹⁶ And Eleazar, as though the advice more painfully tortured him, cried out, ¹⁷ Let not us who are children of Abraham be so evil advised as by giving way to make use of an unbecoming pretense; ¹⁸ for it were irrational, if having lived up to old age in all truth, and having scrupulously guarded our character for it, we should now turn back, ¹⁹ and ourselves should become a pattern of impiety to the young, as being an example of pollution eating. ²⁰ It would be disgraceful if we should live on some short time, and that scorned by all men for cowardice, ²¹ and be condemned by the tyrant for unmanliness, by not contending to the death for our divine law. ²² Wherefore do you, O children of Abraham, die nobly for your religion. ²³ Ye spearbearers of the tyrant, why do ye linger?
4Mac 6:16-23
²⁴ Beholding him so high-minded against misery, and not changing at their pity, they led him to the fire: ²⁵ then with their wickedly contrived instruments they burned him on the fire, and poured stinking fluids down into his nostrils.
4Mac 6:24-25
²⁶ And he being at length burned down to the bones, and about to expire, raised his eyes toward God, and said, ²⁷ Thou knowest, O God, that when I might have been saved, I am slain for the sake of the law by tortures of fire. ²⁸ Be merciful to thy people, and be satisfied with the punishment of me on their account. ²⁹ Let my blood be a purification for them, and take my life in recompense for theirs. ³⁰ Thus speaking, the holy man departed, noble in his torments, and even to the agonies of death resisted in his reasoning for the sake of the law.
4Mac 6:26-30
³¹ Confessedly, therefore, religious reasoning is master of the passions. ³² For had the passions been superior to reasoning, I would have given them the witness of this mastery. ³³ But now, since reasoning conquered the passions, we befittingly award it the authority of first place.
4Mac 6:31-33