top 4 Maccabees ch 11

Chapter 11

Verses: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27]
1 Ὡς δὲ καὶ οὗτος ταῖς βασάνοις καταικισθεὶς ἐναπέθανεν, ὁ πέμπτος παρεπήδησεν λέγων 1 And when he had died, disfigured in his torments, the fifth leaped forward, and said,
2 οὐ μέλλω, τύραννε, πρὸς τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀρετῆς βασανισμὸν παραιτεῖσθαι, 2 I intend not, O tyrant, to get excused from the torment which is in behalf of virtue.
3 αὐτὸς δ᾿ ἀπ᾿ ἐμαυτοῦ παρῆλθον, ὅπως κἀμὲ κατακτείνας περὶ πλειόνων ἀδικημάτων ὀφειλήσῃς τῇ οὐρανίῳ δίκῃ τιμωρίαν. 3 But I have come of mine own accord, that by the death of me, you may owe heavenly vengeance a punishment for more crimes.
4 ὦ μισάρετε καὶ μισάνθρωπε, τί δράσαντας ἡμᾶς τοῦτον πορθεῖς τὸν τρόπον; 4 O thou hater of virtue and of men, what have we done that thou thus revellest in our blood?
5 ὅτι τὸν πάντων κτίστην εὐσεβοῦμεν καὶ κατὰ τὸν ἐνάρετον αὐτοῦ ζῶμεν νόμον; 5 Does it seem evil to thee that we worship the Founder of all things, and live according to his surpassing law?
6 ἀλλὰ ταῦτα τιμῶν, οὐ βασάνων ἐστὶν ἄξια 6 But this is worthy of honours, not torments;
7 εἴπερ ᾐσθάνου ἀνθρώπου πόθον καὶ ἐλπίδα εἶχες παρὰ θεῷ σωτηρίου· 7 hadst thou been capable of the higher feelings of men, and possessed the hope of salvation from God.
8 νυνὶ δὲ ἀλλότριος ὢν θεοῦ πολεμεῖς τοὺς εὐσεβοῦντας εἰς τὸν Θεόν. 8 Behold now, being alien from God, thou makest war against those who are religious toward God.
9 τοιαῦτα δὲ λέγοντα οἱ δορυφόροι δήσαντες αὐτὸν εἷλκον ἐπὶ τὸν καταπέλτην, 9 As he said this, the spearbearers bound him, and drew him to the catapult:
10 ἐφ᾿ ὃν δήσαντες αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὰ γόνατα καὶ ταῦτα ποδάγραις σιδηραῖς ἐφαρμόσαντες τὴν ὀσφὺν αὐτοῦ περὶ τροχιαῖον σφῆνα κατέκαμψαν, περὶ ὃν ὅλος περὶ τὸν τροχὸν σκορπίου τρόπον ἀνακλώμενος ἐξεμελίζετο. 10 to which binding him at his knees, and fastening them with iron fetters, they bent down his loins upon the wedge of the wheel; and his body was then dismembered, scorpion-fashion.
11 κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα στενοχωρούμενος καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἀγχόμενος 11 With his breath thus confined, and his body strangled, he said,
12 καλάς, ἔλεγεν, ἄκων, ὦ τύραννε, χάριτας ἡμῖν χαρίζῃ διὰ γενναιοτέρων πόνων ἐπιδείξασθαι παρέχων τὴν εἰς τὸν νόμον ἡμῶν καρτερίαν. 12 A great favour thou bestowest upon us, O tyrant, by enabling us to manifest our adherence to the law by means of nobler sufferings.
13 τελευτήσαντος δὲ καὶ τούτου ὁ ἕκτος ἤγετο μειρακίσκος, ὃς πυνθανομένου τοῦ τυράννου εἰ βούλοιτο φαγὼν ἀπολύεσθαι, ὁ δὲ ἔφη 13 He also being dead, the sixth, quite a youth, was brought out; and on the tyrant asking him whether he would eat and be delivered, he said,
14 ἐγὼ τῇ μὲν ἡλικίᾳ τῶν ἀδελφῶν μού εἰμι νεώτερος, τῇ δὲ διανοίᾳ ἡλικιώτης· 14 I am indeed younger than my brothers, but in understanding I am as old;
15 εἰς ταὐτὰ γὰρ γεννηθέντες καὶ ἀνατραφέντες ὑπὲρ τῶν αὐτῶν καὶ ἀποθνῄσκειν ὀφείλομεν ὁμοίως· 15 for having been born and reared unto the same end, we are bound to die also in behalf of the same cause.
16 ὥστε εἴ σοὶ δοκεῖ βασανίζειν μὴ μιαροφαγοῦντα, βασάνιζε. 16 So that if ye think proper to torment us for not eating the unclean;—torment!
17 ταῦτα αὐτὸν εἰπόντα παρῆγον ἐπὶ τὸν τροχόν, 17 As he said this, they brought him to the wheel.
18 ἐφ᾿ οὗ κατατεινόμενος ἐπιμελῶς καὶ ἐκσπονδυλιζόμενος ὑπεκαίετο. 18 Extended upon which, with limbs racked and dislocated, he was gradually roasted from beneath.
19 καὶ ὀβελίσκους ὀξεῖς πυρώσαντες τοῖς νώτοις προσέφερον καὶ τὰ πλευρὰ διαπείραντες αὐτοῦ τὰ σπλάγχνα διέκαιον. 19 And having heated sharp spits, they approached them to his back; and having transfixed his sides, they burned away his entrails.
20 ὁ δὲ βασανιζόμενος ὦ ἱεροπρεποῦς ἀγῶνος, ἔλεγεν, ἐφ᾿ ὃν διὰ τὴν εὐσέβειαν εἰς γυμνασίαν πόνων ἀδελφοὶ τοσοῦτοι κληθέντες οὐκ ἐνικήθημεν. 20 And he, while tormented, said, O period good and holy, in which, for the sake of religion, we brethren have been called to the contest of pain, and have not been conquered.
21 ἀνίκητος γάρ ἐστιν, ὦ τύραννε, ἡ εὐσεβὴς ἐπιστήμη. 21 For religious understanding, O tyrant, is unconquered.
22 καλοκἀγαθίᾳ καθωπλισμένος τεθνήξομαι κἀγὼ μετὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν μου 22 Armed with upright virtue, I also shall depart with my brethren.
23 μέγαν σοὶ καὶ αὐτὸς προσβάλλων ἀλάστορα, καινουργὲ τῶν βασάνων καὶ πολέμιε τῶν ἀληθῶς εὐσεβούντων. 23 I, too, bearing with me a great avenger, O deviser of tortures, and enemy of the truly pious.
24 ἓξ μειράκια καταλελύκαμέν σου τὴν τυραννίδα· 24 We six youths have destroyed thy tyranny.
25 τὸ γὰρ μὴ δυνηθῆναί σὲ μεταπεῖσαι τὸν λογισμὸν ἡμῶν μήτε βιάσασθαι πρὸς τὴν μιαροφαγίαν οὐ κατάλυσίς ἐστίν σου; 25 For is not your inability to overrule our reasoning, and to compel us to eat the unclean, thy destruction?
26 τὸ πῦρ σου ψυχρὸν ἡμῖν, καὶ ἄπονοι οἱ καταπέλται, καὶ ἀδύνατος ἡ βία σου. 26 Your fire is cold to us, your catapults are painless, and your violence harmless.
27 οὐ γὰρ τυράννου, ἀλλὰ θείου νόμου προεστήκασιν ἡμῶν οἱ δορυφόροι· διὰ τοῦτο ἀνίκητον ἔχομεν τὸν λογισμόν. 27 For the guards not of a tyrant but of a divine law are our defenders: through this we keep our reasoning unconquered.