4 Maccabees 13:18-20

Common English Bible

¹⁸ The brothers who were left behind were calling out to each one as he was being dragged away, “Don’t let us down, brother, or be disloyal to the brothers who have died before us!”

Love between siblings

¹⁹ No doubt you are aware of the powerful love that exists between brothers and sisters. Divine and wise providence gives this kind of love through the father and plants it in the mother’s womb. ²⁰ These brothers all spent the same length of time in the same womb. They were formed over the same period of time. They grew from the same blood, and they were brought to full term with the same life.