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ΜΑΚΚΑΒΑΙΩΝ Δ | 4 MACCABEES - Brenton|RSV | Reference |
| 1 | Τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον ἀντιρρητορεύσαντα ταῖς τοῦ τυράννου παρηγορίαις παραστάντες οἱ δορυφόροι πικρῶς ἔσυραν ἐπὶ τὰ βασανιστήρια τὸν Ελεαζαρον. |
When Eleazar in this manner had made eloquent response to the exhortations of the tyrant, the guards who were standing by dragged him violently to the instruments of torture. | |
| 2 | καὶ πρῶτον μὲν περιέδυσαν τὸν γεραιὸν ἐγκοσμούμενον τῇ περὶ τὴν εὐσέβειαν εὐσχημοσύνῃ· |
First they stripped the old man, who remained adorned with the gracefulness of his piety. | |
| 3 | ἔπειτα περιαγκωνίσαντες ἑκατέρωθεν μάστιξιν κατῄκιζον, |
And after they had tied his arms on each side they scourged him, | |
| 4 | Πείσθητι ταῖς τοῦ βασιλέως ἐντολαῖς, ἑτέρωθεν κήρυκος ἐπιβοῶντος. |
while a herald opposite him cried out, "Obey the king's commands!" | |
| 5 | ὁ δὲ μεγαλόφρων καὶ εὐγενὴς ὡς ἀληθῶς Ελεαζαρος ὥσπερ ἐν ὀνείρῳ βασανιζόμενος κατ' οὐδένα τρόπον μετετρέπετο, |
But the courageous and noble man, as a true Eleazar, was unmoved, as though being tortured in a dream; | |
| 6 | ἀλλὰ ὑψηλοὺς ἀνατείνας εἰς οὐρανὸν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἀπεξαίνετο ταῖς μάστιξιν τὰς σάρκας ὁ γέρων καὶ κατερρεῖτο τῷ αἵματι καὶ τὰ πλευρὰ κατετιτρώσκετο. |
yet while the old man's eyes were raised to heaven, his flesh was being torn by scourges, his blood flowing, and his sides were being cut to pieces. | |
| 7 | καὶ πίπτων εἰς τὸ ἔδαφος ἀπὸ τοῦ μὴ φέρειν τὸ σῶμα τὰς ἀλγηδόνας ὀρθὸν εἶχεν καὶ ἀκλινῆ τὸν λογισμόν. |
And though he fell to the ground because his body could not endure the agonies, he kept his reason upright and unswerving. | |
| 8 | λάξ γέ τοι τῶν πικρῶν τις δορυφόρων εἰς τοὺς κενεῶνας ἐναλλόμενος ἔτυπτεν, ὅπως ἐξανίσταιτο πίπτων. |
One of the cruel guards rushed at him and began to kick him in the side to make him get up again after he fell. | |
| 9 | ὁ δὲ ὑπέμενε τοὺς πόνους καὶ περιεφρόνει τῆς ἀνάγκης καὶ διεκαρτέρει τοὺς αἰκισμούς, |
But he bore the pains and scorned the punishment and endured the tortures. | |
| 10 | καὶ καθάπερ γενναῖος ἀθλητὴς τυπτόμενος ἐνίκα τοὺς βασανίζοντας ὁ γέρων· |
And like a noble athlete the old man, while being beaten, was victorious over his torturers; | |
| 11 | ἱδρῶν γέ τοι τὸ πρόσωπον καὶ ἐπασθμαίνων σφοδρῶς καὶ ὑπ' αὐτῶν τῶν βασανιζόντων ἐθαυμάζετο ἐπὶ τῇ εὐψυχίᾳ. |
in fact, with his face bathed in sweat, and gasping heavily for breath, he amazed even his torturers by his courageous spirit. | |
| 12 | Ὅθεν τὰ μὲν ἐλεῶντες τὰ τοῦ γήρως αὐτοῦ, |
At that point, partly out of pity for his old age, | |
| 13 | τὰ δὲ ἐν συμπαθείᾳ τῆς συνηθείας ὄντες, τὰ δὲ ἐν θαυμασμῷ τῆς καρτερίας προσιόντες αὐτῷ τινες τοῦ βασιλέως ἔλεγον |
partly out of sympathy from their acquaintance with him, partly out of admiration for his endurance, some of the king's retinue came to him and said, | |
| 14 | Τί τοῖς κακοῖς τούτοις σεαυτὸν ἀλογίστως ἀπόλλεις, Ελεαζαρ; |
"Eleazar, why are you so irrationally destroying yourself through these evil things? | |
| 15 | ἡμεῖς μέν τοι τῶν ἡψημένων βρωμάτων παραθήσομεν, σὺ δὲ ὑποκρινόμενος τῶν ὑείων ἀπογεύεσθαι σώθητι. |
We will set before you some cooked meat; save yourself by pretending to eat pork." | |
| 16 | Καὶ ὁ Ελεαζαρος ὥσπερ πικρότερον διὰ τῆς συμβουλίας αἰκισθεὶς ἀνεβόησεν |
But Eleazar, as though more bitterly tormented by this counsel, cried out: | |
| 17 | Μὴ οὕτως κακῶς φρονήσαιμεν οἱ Αβρααμ παῖδες ὥστε μαλακοψυχήσαντας ἀπρεπὲς ἡμῖν δρᾶμα ὑποκρίνασθαι. |
"May we, the children of Abraham, never think so basely that out of cowardice we feign a role unbecoming to us! | |
| 18 | καὶ γὰρ ἀλόγιστον εἰ πρὸς ἀλήθειαν ζήσαντες τὸν μέχρι γήρως βίον καὶ τὴν ἐπ' αὐτῷ δόξαν νομίμως φυλάσσοντες νῦν μεταβαλοίμεθα |
For it would be irrational if we, who have lived in accordance with truth to old age and have maintained in accordance with law the reputation of such a life, should now change our course | |
| 19 | καὶ αὐτοὶ μὲν ἡμεῖς γενοίμεθα τοῖς νέοις ἀσεβείας τύπος, ἵνα παράδειγμα γενώμεθα τῆς μιαροφαγίας. |
become a pattern of impiety to the young, in becoming an example of the eating of defiling food. | |
| 20 | αἰσχρὸν δὲ εἰ ἐπιβιώσομεν ὀλίγον χρόνον καὶ τοῦτον καταγελώμενοι πρὸς ἁπάντων ἐπὶ δειλίᾳ |
It would be shameful if we should survive for a little while and during that time be a laughing stock to all for our cowardice, | |
| 21 | καὶ ὑπὸ μὲν τοῦ τυράννου καταφρονηθῶμεν ὡς ἄνανδροι, τὸν δὲ θεῖον ἡμῶν νόμον μέχρι θανάτου μὴ προασπίσαιμεν. |
and if we should be despised by the tyrant as unmanly, and not protect our divine law even to death. | |
| 22 | πρὸς ταῦτα ὑμεῖς μέν, ὦ Αβρααμ παῖδες, εὐγενῶς ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐσεβείας τελευτᾶτε. |
Therefore, O children of Abraham, die nobly for your religion! | |
| 23 | οἱ δὲ τοῦ τυράννου δορυφόροι, τί μέλλετε; |
And you, guards of the tyrant, why do you delay?" | |
| 24 | Πρὸς τὰς ἀνάγκας οὕτως μεγαλοφρονοῦντα αὐτὸν ἰδόντες καὶ μηδὲ πρὸς τὸν οἰκτιρμὸν αὐτῶν μεταβαλλόμενον ἐπὶ τὸ πῦρ αὐτὸν ἀνῆγον· |
When they saw that he was so courageous in the face of the afflictions, and that he had not been changed by their compassion, the guards brought him to the fire. | |
| 25 | ἔνθα διὰ κακοτέχνων ὀργάνων καταφλέγοντες αὐτὸν ὑπερρίπτοσαν, καὶ δυσώδεις χυλοὺς εἰς τοὺς μυκτῆρας αὐτοῦ κατέχεον. |
There they burned him with maliciously contrived instruments, threw him down, and poured stinking liquids into his nostrils. | |
| 26 | ὁ δὲ μέχρι τῶν ὀστέων ἤδη κατακεκαυμένος καὶ μέλλων λιποθυμεῖν ἀνέτεινε τὰ ὄμματα πρὸς τὸν θεὸν καὶ εἶπεν |
When he was now burned to his very bones and about to expire, he lifted up his eyes to God and said, | |
| 27 | Σὺ οἶσθα, θεέ, παρόν μοι σῴζεσθαι βασάνοις καυστικαῖς ἀποθνῄσκω διὰ τὸν νόμον. |
"You know, O God, that though I might have saved myself, I am dying in burning torments for the sake of the law. | |
| 28 | ἵλεως γενοῦ τῷ ἔθνει σου ἀρκεσθεὶς τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν δίκῃ. |
Be merciful to your people, and let our punishment suffice for them. | |
| 29 | καθάρσιον αὐτῶν ποίησον τὸ ἐμὸν αἷμα καὶ ἀντίψυχον αὐτῶν λαβὲ τὴν ἐμὴν ψυχήν. |
Make my blood their purification, and take my life in exchange for theirs." | |
| 30 | καὶ ταῦτα εἰπὼν ὁ ἱερὸς ἀνὴρ εὐγενῶς ταῖς βασάνοις ἐναπέθανεν καὶ μέχρι τῶν τοῦ θανάτου βασάνων ἀντέστη τῷ λογισμῷ διὰ τὸν νόμον. |
And after he said this, the holy man died nobly in his tortures, and by reason he resisted even to the very tortures of death for the sake of the law. | |
| 31 | Ὁμολογουμένως οὖν δεσπότης τῶν παθῶν ἐστιν ὁ εὐσεβὴς λογισμός. |
Admittedly, then, devout reason is sovereign over the emotions. | |
| 32 | εἰ γὰρ τὰ πάθη τοῦ λογισμοῦ κεκρατήκει, τούτοις ἂν ἀπέδομεν τὴν τῆς ἐπικρατείας μαρτυρίαν· |
For if the emotions had prevailed over reason, we would have testified to their domination. | |
| 33 | νυνὶ δὲ τοῦ λογισμοῦ τὰ πάθη νικήσαντος αὐτῷ προσηκόντως τὴν τῆς ἡγεμονίας προσνέμομεν ἐξουσίαν. |
But now that reason has conquered the emotions, we properly attribute to it the power to govern. | |
| 34 | καὶ δίκαιόν ἐστιν ὁμολογεῖν ἡμᾶς τὸ κράτος εἶναι τοῦ λογισμοῦ, ὅπου γε καὶ τῶν ἔξωθεν ἀλγηδόνων ἐπικρατεῖ, ἐπεὶ καὶ γελοῖον. |
And it is right for us to acknowledge the dominance of reason when it masters even external agonies. It would be ridiculous to deny it. | |
| 35 | καὶ οὐ μόνον τῶν ἀλγηδόνων ἐπιδείκνυμι κεκρατηκέναι τὸν λογισμόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἡδονῶν κρατεῖν καὶ μηδὲν αὐταῖς ὑπείκειν. |
And I have proved not only that reason has mastered agonies, but also that it masters pleasures and in no respect yields to them. | |
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