DB1 | Eleazor dies a martyr. 2Mace.6.18-31 | KNSB Contents | notes| 6 | katapi NEW STUDY BIBLE | Passage | Old Testament in Greek (Septuagint) |
| 18 | Eleazar, one of the scribes in high position, a man now advanced in age and of noble presence, was being forced to open his mouth to eat swine's flesh. | Eleazor dies a martyr. 2Mace.6.18-31 | Ελεάζαρός τις τῶν πρωτευόντων γραμματέων, ἀνὴρ ἤδη προβεβηκὼς τὴν ἡλικίαν καὶ τὴν πρόσοψιν τοῦ προσώπου κάλλιστος, ἀναχανὼν ἠναγκάζετο φαγεῖν ὕειον κρέας. |
| 19 | But he, welcoming death with honour rather than life with pollution, went up to the the rack of his own accord, spitting out the flesh, | ὁ δὲ τὸν μετ' εὐκλείας θάνατον μᾶλλον ἢ τὸν μετὰ μύσους βίον ἀναδεξάμενος, αὐθαιρέτως ἐπὶ τὸ τύμπανον προσῆγεν, | |
| 20 | as men ought to go who have the courage to refuse things that it is not right to taste, even for the natural love of life. | προπτύσας δὲ καθ' ὃν ἔδει τρόπον προσέρχεσθαι τοὺς ὑπομένοντας ἀμύνασθαι ὧν οὐ θέμις γεύσασθαι διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸ ζῆν φιλοστοργίαν. | |
| 21 | Those who were in charge of that unlawful sacrifice took the man aside, because of their long acquaintance with him, and privately urged him to bring meat of his own providing, proper for him to use, and pretend that he was eating the flesh of the sacrificial meal which had been commanded by the king, | οἱ δὲ πρὸς τῷ παρανόμῳ σπλαγχνισμῷ τεταγμένοι διὰ τὴν ἐκ τῶν παλαιῶν χρόνων πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα γνῶσιν ἀπολαβόντες αὐτὸν κατ' ἰδίαν παρεκάλουν ἐνέγκαντα κρέα, οἷς καθῆκον αὐτῷ χρᾶσθαι, δι' αὐτοῦ παρασκευασθέντα, ὑποκριθῆναι δὲ ὡς ἐσθίοντα τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως προστεταγμένα τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς θυσίας κρεῶν, | |
| 22 | so that by doing this he might be saved from death, and be treated kindly on account of his old friendship with them. | ἵνα τοῦτο πράξας ἀπολυθῇ τοῦ θανάτου καὶ διὰ τὴν ἀρχαίαν πρὸς αὐτοὺς φιλίαν τύχῃ φιλανθρωπίας. | |
| 23 | But making a high resolve, worthy of his years and the dignity of his old age and the gray hairs which he had reached with distinction and his excellent life even from childhood, and moreover according to the holy God-given law, he declared himself quickly, telling them to send him to Hades. | ὁ δὲ λογισμὸν ἀστεῖον ἀναλαβὼν καὶ ἄξιον τῆς ἡλικίας καὶ τῆς τοῦ γήρως ὑπεροχῆς καὶ τῆς ἐπικτήτου καὶ ἐπιφανοῦς πολιᾶς καὶ τῆς ἐκ παιδὸς καλλίστης ἀναστροφῆς, μᾶλλον δὲ τῆς ἁγίας καὶ θεοκτίστου νομοθεσίας ἀκολούθως ἀπεφήνατο ταχέως λέγων προπέμπειν εἰς τὸν ᾅδην. | |
| 24 | "Such pretence is not worthy of our time of life," he said, "lest many of the young should suppose that Eleazar in his ninetieth year has gone over to an alien religion, | Οὐ γὰρ τῆς ἡμετέρας ἡλικίας ἄξιόν ἐστιν ὑποκριθῆναι, ἵνα πολλοὶ τῶν νέων ὑπολαβόντες Ελεαζαρον τὸν ἐνενηκονταετῆ μεταβεβηκέναι εἰς ἀλλοφυλισμὸν | |
| 25 | and through my pretence, for the sake of living a brief moment longer, they should be led astray because of me, while I defile and disgrace my old age. | καὶ αὐτοὶ διὰ τὴν ἐμὴν ὑπόκρισιν καὶ διὰ τὸ μικρὸν καὶ ἀκαριαῖον ζῆν πλανηθῶσιν δι' ἐμέ, καὶ μύσος καὶ κηλῖδα τοῦ γήρως κατακτήσωμαι. | |
| 26 | For even if for the present I should avoid the punishment of men, yet whether I live or die I shall not escape the hands of the Almighty. | εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἐξελοῦμαι τὴν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων τιμωρίαν, ἀλλὰ τὰς τοῦ παντοκράτορος χεῖρας οὔτε ζῶν οὔτε ἀποθανὼν ἐκφεύξομαι. | |
| 27 | Therefore, by manfully giving up my life now, I will show myself worthy of my old age | διόπερ ἀνδρείως μὲν νῦν διαλλάξας τὸν βίον τοῦ μὲν γήρως ἄξιος φανήσομαι, | |
| 28 | and leave to the young a noble example of how to die a good death willingly and nobly for the revered and holy laws." When he had said this, he went at once to the rack. | τοῖς δὲ νέοις ὑπόδειγμα γενναῖον καταλελοιπὼς εἰς τὸ προθύμως καὶ γενναίως ὑπὲρ τῶν σεμνῶν καὶ ἁγίων νόμων ἀπευθανατίζειν. τοσαῦτα δὲ εἰπὼν ἐπὶ τὸ τύμπανον εὐθέως ἦλθεν. | |
| 29 | And those who a little before had acted toward him with good will now changed to ill will, because the words he had uttered were in their opinion sheer madness. | τῶν δὲ ἀγόντων πρὸς αὐτὸν τὴν μικρῷ πρότερον εὐμένειαν εἰς δυσμένειαν μεταβαλόντων διὰ τὸ τοὺς προειρημένους λόγους, ὡς αὐτοὶ διελάμβανον, ἀπόνοιαν εἶναι, | |
| 30 | When he was about to die under the blows, he groaned aloud and said: " It is clear to the Lord in his holy knowledge that, though I might have been saved from death, I am enduring terrible sufferings in my body under this beating, but in my soul I am glad to suffer these things because I fear him. " | μέλλων δὲ ταῖς πληγαῖς τελευτᾶν ἀναστενάξας εἶπεν Τῷ κυρίῳ τῷ τὴν ἁγίαν γνῶσιν ἔχοντι φανερόν ἐστιν ὅτι δυνάμενος ἀπολυθῆναι τοῦ θανάτου σκληρὰς ὑποφέρω κατὰ τὸ σῶμα ἀλγηδόνας μαστιγούμενος, κατὰ ψυχὴν δὲ ἡδέως διὰ τὸν αὐτοῦ φόβον ταῦτα πάσχω. | |
| 31 | So in this way he died, leaving in his death an example of nobility and a memorial of courage, not only to the young but to the great body of his nation. | καὶ οὗτος οὖν τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον μετήλλαξεν οὐ μόνον τοῖς νέοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς πλείστοις τοῦ ἔθνους τὸν ἑαυτοῦ θάνατον ὑπόδειγμα γενναιότητος καὶ μνημόσυνον ἀρετῆς καταλιπών. | |