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2 Maccabees 7:1-3
New Catholic Bible
2 Maccabees 7:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 7
Martyrdom of Seven Brothers and Their Mother.[a] 1 It also happened that seven brothers were arrested together with their mother. The king tortured them with whips and scourges in an attempt to force them to eat pork, in violation of the law of God. 2 One of the brothers, acting as a spokesman for the others, said, “What do you expect to achieve by questioning us? We are prepared to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.”
3 The king became enraged and issued orders to have pans and caldrons heated.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Maccabees 7:1 Together with the story of Eleazar, this celebrated narrative belongs to a new category of writings: the “Acts of the Martyrs.” These were designed to encourage the faithful during persecutions and became very popular in Christian circles. We should not expect too much historical precision. The author wishes to edify by insisting on the atrocity of the tortures and the heroism of those who suffer them. Together with the Book of Daniel (Dan 12:2-3) and the Book of Wisdom (Wis 3:1-5), here for the first time in the Old Testament, faith in the resurrection is affirmed, and this expectation is rooted in a profound conception of the creation of the Covenant (see vv. 18, 22-23, 33).
