4 Maccabees 9:27-29

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

²⁷ Before torturing him, they inquired if he were willing to eat, and they heard his noble decision.^{(A) 28} These leopard-like beasts tore out his sinews with the iron hands, flayed all his flesh up to his chin, and tore away his scalp. But he steadfastly endured this agony and said, ²⁹ “How sweet is any kind of death for our ancestral piety!”