4 Maccabees 16

1 Εἰ δὲ τοίνυν καὶ γυνὴ, καὶ γηραιὰ, καὶ ἑπτὰ παὶδων μήτηρ ὑπέμεινε τὰς μέχρι θανάτου βασάνους ὁρῶσα τῶν τέκνων· ὁμολογουμένως αὐτοκράτωρ ἐστὶν τῶν παθῶν ὁ εὐσεβὴς λογισμός.

2 Ἀπέδειξα οὖν ὅτι οὐ μόνον τῶν παθῶν ἄνδρες ἐπεκράτησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ γυνὴ τῶν μεγίστων βασάνων ὑπερεφρόνησεν.

3 Καὶ οὐχ οὕτως οἱ περὶ Δανιὴλ λέοντες ἦσαν ἄγριοι, οὐδὲ Μισαὴλ ἐκφλεγομένη κάμινος λαβροτάτῳ πυρὶ, ὡς τῆς φιλοτεκνίας περιέκαιεν ἐκείνη φύσις, ὁρῶσα αὑτῆς τοὺς ἑπτὰ υἱοὺς βασανιζομένους.

4 Ἀλλὰ τῷ λογισμῷ τῆς εὐσεβείας κατέσβεσε τοσαῦτα καὶ τηλικαῦτα πάθη ἡ μήτηρ.

5 Καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο ἐπιλογίσασθαι, ὅτι εἰ δειλόψυχος ἦν ἡ γυνὴ, καίπερ μήτηρ οὖσα, ὠλοφύρετο ἂν ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς· καὶ ἴσως ἄν ταῦτα οὕτως εἶπεν,

6 Ὦ μελέα ἔγωγε, καὶ πολλάκις τρισαθλία, ἥτις ἑπτὰ παῖδας τεκοῦσα, οὐδενὸς μήτηρ γεγένημαι.

7 Ὦ μάταιοι ἐπτὰ κυοφορίαι, καὶ ἀνόνητοι ἐπτὰ δεκάηνοι, καὶ ἄκαρποι τιθηνίαι, καὶ ταλαίπωροι γαλακτοτροφίοι.

8 Μάτην ἐφʼ ὑμῖν, ὦ παῖδες, πολλὰς ὑπέμεινα ὠδῖνας καὶ χαλεπωτέρας φροντίδας ἀνατροφῆς.

9 Ὦ τῶν ἐμῶν παίδων, οἱ μὲν ἄγαμοι, οἱ δὲ γαμήσαντες ἀνόνητοι, οὐκ ὄψομαι ὑμῶν τέκνα, οὐδὲ μάμμη κληθεῖσα μακαρισθήσομαι.

10 Ὦ ἡ πολύπαις καὶ καλλίπαις ἐγὼ γυνὴ χήρα καὶ μόνη πολύθρηνος.

11 Οὐδʼ ἂν ἀποθάνω, θάπτοντα τῶν υἱῶν ἕξω τινά.

12 Ἀλλὰ τούτῳ τῷ θρήνῳ οὐδένα ὠλοφύρετο ἡ ἱερὰ καὶ θεοσεβὴς μήτηρ. Οὐδʼ ἵνα μὴ ἀποθάνωσιν ἀπέτρεπεν αὐτῶν τινα, οὐδʼ ὡς ἀποθνησκόντων ἐλυπήθη.

13 Ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ ἀδαμάντινον ἔχουσα τὸν νοῦν, καὶ εἰς ἀθανασίαν ἀνατίκτουσα τὸν τῶν υἱῶν ἀριθμὸν, μᾶλλον ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐπὶ τὸν θάνατον αὐτοὺς προετρέπετο ἱκετεύουσα.

14 Ὦ διʼ εὐσέβειαν Θεοῦ στρατιῶτι, πρεσβύτι καὶ γυνὴ διὰ καρτερίαν καὶ τύραννον ἐνίκησας, καὶ ἔργοις δυνατωτέρα καὶ λόγοις εὑρέθης ἄνανδρος.

15 Καὶ γὰν ὃτε συνελήφθης μετὰ τῶν παίδων, εἱστήκεις τὸν Ἐλεάζαρον ὁρῶσα βασανιζόμενον, καὶ ἔλεγες τοῖς παισὶν ἐν τῇ Ἑβοαΐδι φωνῇ,

16 Ὦ παῖδες, γενναῖος ὁ ἀγών· εφ ὃν κληθέντες ὑπὲρ τῆς διαμαρτυρίας τοῦ ἔθνους, ἐναγωνίσασθε προθύμως ὑπὲρ τοῦ πατρίουνόμου.

17 Καὶ γὰρ αἰσχρὸν τὸν μὴν γέροντα τοῦτον ὑπομένειν τὰς διὰ τὴν εὐσέβειαν ἀληδόνας, ὑμᾶς δὲ τοὺς νεωτέρους καταπλαγῆναι τὰς βασάνους.

18 Ἀναμνήσθητε, ὅτι διὰ τὸν Θεὸν τοῦ κόσμου μετελάβετε, καὶ τοῦ βίου ἀπελαύσατέ·

19 καὶ διὰ τιῦτο ὀφείλετε πάντα πόνον ὑπομένειν διὰ τὸν Θεόν.

20 Διʼ ὃν καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν Ἁβραὰμ ἔσπευδεν τὸν ἐθνοπάτορα υἱὸν σφαγιάσαι Ἰσαὰκ, καὶ τὴν πατρῷαν χεῖρα ξιφηφόρον καταφερομένην ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ὁρῶν οὐκ ἔπτηξεν.

21 Καὶ Δανιὴλ ὁ δίκαιος εἰς λέοντας ἐβλήθη· καὶ Ἀνανίας, καὶ Ἀζαρίας, καὶ Μισαὴλ εἰς κάμινον πυρὸς ἀπεσφενδονήθησαν, καὶ ὑπέμειναν, διὰ τὸν Θεόν.

22 Καὶ ὑμεῖς οὖν τὴν αὐτὴν πίστιν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἔχοντες, μὴ χαλεπαίνητε.

23 Ἀλόγιστον γὰρ εἰδότας εὐσέβειαν μὴ ἀντιστασθαι τοῖς πόνοις.

24 Διὰ τούτων τῶν λόγων ἡ ἑπταμήτωρ ἕνα ἕκαστον τῶν υἱῶν παρακαλοῦσα, ἔπεισε μᾶλλον, ἢ παραβῆναι τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ.

25 Ἔτι δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ἰδόντες, ὅτι διὰ τὸν Θεὸν ἀποθανόντες ζῶσιν τῷ Θεῷ, ὥσπερ Ἁβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακὼβ, καὶ πάντες οἱ πατριάρχαι.

1 If, then, even a woman, and that an aged one, and the mother of seven children, endured to see her children's torments even unto death, confessedly religious reasoning is master even of the passions.

2 I have proved, then, that not only men have obtained the mastery of their passions, but also that a woman despised the greatest torments.

3 And not so fierce were the lions round Daniel, nor the furnace of Misael burning with most vehement fire, as that natural love of children burned within her, when she beheld her seven sons tortured.

4 But with the reasoning of religion the mother quenched passions so great and powerful.

5 For we must consider also this: that, had the woman been faint-hearted, as being their mother, she would have lamented over them; and perhaps might have spoken thus:

6 Ah! wretched I, and many times miserable; who having born seven sons, have become the mother of none.

7 O seven useless childbirths, and seven profitless periods of labour, and fruitless givings of suck, and miserable nursings at the breast.

8 Vainly, for your sakes, O sons, have I endured many pangs, and the more difficult anxieties of rearing.

9 Alas, of my children, some of you unmarried, and some who have married to no profit, I shall not see your children, nor be felicitated as a grandmother.

10 Ah, that I who had many and fair children, should be a lone widow full of sorrows!

11 Nor, should I die, shall I have a son to bury me. But with such a lament as this the holy and God-fearing mother bewailed none of them.

12 Nor did she divert any of them from death, nor grieve for them as for the dead.

13 But as one possessed with an adamantine mind, and as one bringing forth again her full number of sons to immortality, she rather with supplications exhorted them to death in behalf of religion.

14 O woman, soldier of God for religion, thou, aged and a female, hast conquered through endurance even a tyrant; and though but weak, hast been found more powerful in deeds and words.

15 For when thou wast seized along with thy children, thou stoodest looking upon Eleazar in torments, and saidst to thy sons in the Hebrew tongue,

16 O sons, noble is the contest; to which you being called as a witness for the nation, strive zealously for the laws of your country.

17 For it were disgraceful that this old man should endure pains for the sake of righteousness, and that you who are younger should be afraid of the tortures.

18 Remember that through God ye obtained existence, and have enjoyed it.

19 And on this account ye ought to bear every affliction because of God.

20 For whom also our father Abraham was forward to sacrifice Isaac our progenitor, and shuddered not at the sight of his own paternal hand descending down with the sword upon him.

21 And the righteous Daniel was cast unto the lions; and Ananias, and Azarias, and Misael, were slung out into a furnace of fire; yet they endured through God.

22 You, then, having the same faith towards God, be not troubled.

23 For it is unreasonable that they who know religion should not stand up against troubles.

24 With these arguments, the mother of seven, exhorting each of her sons, over-persuaded them from transgressing the commandment of God.

25 And they saw this, too, that they who die for God, live to God; as Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the patriarchs.