The Jews Are Persecuted Because of Their Faith

¹Not long after that, the king sent an elderly Athenian to force the Jews to abandon their religion and the customs of their ancestors.

²He was also to defile their Temple by dedicating it to the Olympian god Zeus. The temple on Mount Gerizim was to be officially named Temple of Zeus the God of Hospitality, as the people who lived there had requested.

³The oppression was harsh and almost intolerable.

⁴Gentiles filled the Temple with drinking parties and all sorts of immorality. They even had intercourse with prostitutes there. Forbidden objects were brought into the Temple,

⁵and the altar was covered with detestable sacrifices prohibited by our Law.

⁶It was impossible to observe the Sabbath, to celebrate any of the traditional festivals, or even so much as to admit to being a Jew.

⁷Each month when the king's birthday was celebrated, the Jews were compelled by brute force to eat the intestines of sacrificial animals. Then, during the festival in honor of the wine god Dionysus, they were required to wear ivy wreaths on their heads and march in procession.

⁸On the advice of Ptolemy, the neighboring Greek cities were also instructed to require Jews to eat the sacrifices;

⁹they were told to put to death every Jew who refused to adopt the Greek way of life. It was easy to see that hard times were ahead.

¹⁰For example, two women were arrested for having their babies circumcised. They were paraded around the city with their babies hung from their breasts; then they were thrown down from the city wall.

¹¹On another occasion, Philip was told that some Jews had gathered in a nearby cave to observe the Sabbath in secret. Philip attacked and burned them all alive. They had such respect for the Sabbath that they would not fight to defend themselves.

The Lord Punishes and Shows Mercy

¹²I beg you not to become discouraged as you read about the terrible things that happened. Consider that this was the Lord's way of punishing his people, not of destroying them.

¹³In fact, it is a sign of kindness to punish a person immediately for his sins, rather than to wait a long time.

¹⁴The Lord does not treat us as he does other nations: he waits patiently until they have become deeply involved in sin before he punishes them,

¹⁵but he punishes us before we have sinned too much.

¹⁶So the Lord is always merciful to us, his own people. Although he punishes us with disasters, he never abandons us.

¹⁷I have made these few observations by way of reminder. We will now get on with the story.

Eleazar Dies for His Faith

¹⁸There was an elderly and highly respected teacher of the Law by the name of Eleazar, whose mouth was being forced open to make him eat pork.

^19-20But he preferred an honorable death rather than a life of disgrace. So he spit out the meat and went willingly to the place of torture, showing how people should have courage to refuse unclean food, even if it costs them their lives.

^21-22Those in charge of the sacrifice had been friends of Eleazar for a long time, and because of this friendship they told him privately to bring meat that was lawful for him to eat. He need only pretend to eat the pork, they said, and in this way he would not be put to death.

²³But Eleazar made a decision worthy of his gray hair and advanced age. All his life he had lived in perfect obedience to God's holy laws, so he replied, Kill me, here and now.

²⁴Such deception is not worthy of a man of my years. Many young people would think that I had denied my faith after I was ninety years old.

²⁵If I pretended to eat this meat, just to live a little while longer, it would bring shame and disgrace on me and lead many young people astray.

²⁶For the present I might be able to escape what you could do to me, but whether I live or die, I cannot escape Almighty God.

²⁷If I die bravely now, it will show that I deserved my long life.

²⁸It will also set a good example of the way young people should be willing and glad to die for our sacred and respected laws. As soon as he said these things, he went off to be tortured,

²⁹and the very people who had treated him kindly a few minutes before, now turned against him, because they thought he had spoken like a madman.

³⁰When they had beaten him almost to the point of death, he groaned and said, The Lord possesses all holy knowledge. He knows I could have escaped these terrible sufferings and death, yet he also knows that I gladly suffer these things, because I fear him.

³¹So Eleazar died. But his courageous death was remembered as a glorious example, not only by young people, but by the entire nation as well.

The Search for Justice

¹Love justice, you rulers of the world. Set your minds sincerely on the Lord, and look for him with all honesty.

²Those who do not try to test him will find him; he will show himself to those who trust him.

³Dishonest thoughts separate people from God, and if we are foolish enough to test him, his power will put us to shame.

⁴Wisdom will never be at home with anyone who is deceitful or a slave of sin.

⁵Everyone who is holy has learned to stay away from deceitful people. He will not stay around when foolish thoughts are being expressed; he will not feel comfortable when injustice is done.

God Is Aware of What We Say

⁶Wisdom is a spirit that is friendly to people, but she will not forgive anyone who speaks against God, for God knows our feelings and thoughts, and hears our every word.

⁷Since the Lord's spirit fills the entire world, and holds everything in it together, she knows every word that people say.

⁸No one who speaks wickedly will escape notice; sooner or later he will receive just punishment.

⁹The intentions of ungodly people will be closely examined; their words will be reported to the Lord, and then they will get the punishment that their wickedness deserves.

¹⁰God will tolerate no challenge, and since he hears everything, you cannot hide your complaining from him.

¹¹So be sure that you do not go around complaining—it does no good—and don't engage in bitter talk. The most secret things you say will have their consequences, and lying will destroy your soul.

God Did Not Create Death

¹²Do not bring on your own death by sinful actions.

¹³God did not invent death, and when living creatures die, it gives him no pleasure.

¹⁴He created everything so that it might continue to exist, and everything he created is wholesome and good. There is no deadly poison in them. No, death does not rule this world,

¹⁵for God's justice does not die.

¹⁶Ungodly people have brought death on themselves by the things they have said and done. They yearn for death as if it were a lover. They have gone into partnership with death, and it is just what they deserve.

Wicked Thinking

¹Wicked people are wrong when they say to themselves, Our life is short and full of sorrow, and when its end comes, there is no escape. No one has ever been known to come back from the world of the dead.

²We were born by chance, and after life is over, we will be as if we had never been born at all. Our breath is no more than a puff of smoke; our mind is nothing more than a spark thrown off by the beating of our heart.

³When that spark dies, our body will crumble into ashes, and our breath will become part of the empty air.

⁴In time, no one will remember anything we ever did, and even our names will be forgotten. Our lives will pass away like the traces of clouds and vanish like fog in the heat of the sun.

⁵Our time on earth is like a passing shadow. There is no escape from the day of our death; it is fixed, and no one can postpone it.

⁶The wicked say, Come on, then, let's enjoy the good things of life, and live in this world the way we did when we were young and free of care!

⁷Let's drink the most expensive wines and use the finest perfumes. Let's not miss a single flower in the springtime!

⁸Before the roses wither, let's pick them and wear them in our hair!

⁹Let's all join in and leave signs everywhere of our carefree revelry! Life owes us that much!

¹⁰We'll oppress the poor, even if they are righteous. We'll show no respect for widows or old people.

¹¹We'll call ourselves right if we are strong enough to get what we want. No one ever got anywhere by being weak!

¹²Righteous people are nothing but a nuisance, so let's look for chances to get rid of them. They are against what we do; they accuse us of breaking the Law of Moses and violating the traditions of our ancestors.

¹³They claim to know God, and they call themselves the Lord's children.

¹⁴We can't stand the sight of people like that; what they are contradicts our whole way of thinking.

¹⁵They are not like other people; they have strange ways.

¹⁶They think that our moral standards are so corrupt that everything we do should be avoided. They boast of having God for their Father, and believe that when all is said and done, only the righteous will be happy.

¹⁷But we'll see if that's true! Let's see what will happen when it's time for them to die!

¹⁸If the righteous really are God's children, God will save them from their enemies.

¹⁹So let's put them to the test. We'll be cruel to them, and torment them; then we'll find out how calm and reasonable they are! We'll find out just how much they can stand!

²⁰We'll condemn them to a shameful death. After all, they say that God will protect them.

²¹That is how evil people think, but they are wrong. They are blinded by their own wickedness.

²²They have never known God's secrets, never hoped for the rewards of a holy and blameless life.

²³When God created us, he did not intend for us to die; he made us like himself.

²⁴It was the Devil's jealousy that brought death into the world, and those who belong to the Devil are the ones who will die.

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²¹Have reverence for the Lord, my child, and honor the king. Have nothing to do with people who rebel against them;

²²such people could be ruined in a moment. Do you realize the disaster that God or the king can cause?

More Wise Sayings

²³The wise have also said these things: It is wrong for judges to be prejudiced.

²⁴If they pronounce a guilty person innocent, they will be cursed and hated by everyone.

²⁵Judges who punish the guilty, however, will be prosperous and enjoy a good reputation.

²⁶An honest answer is a sign of true friendship.