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| 17 |
Revised Standard Version |
Passage |
Old Testament in Greek (Septuagint) |
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| 7 | If it were possible for us to paint the history of your piety as an artist might, would not those who first beheld it have shuddered as they saw the mother of the seven children enduring their varied tortures to death for the sake of religion? | MEDITATION. 4Mace.17.7-18.24 | Εἰ δὲ ἐξὸν ἡμῖν ἦν ὥσπερ ἐπί τινος ζωγραφῆσαι τὴν τῆς εὐσεβείας σου ἱστορίαν, οὐκ ἂν ἔφριττον οἱ θεωροῦντες ὁρῶντες μητέρα ἑπτὰ τέκνων δι' εὐσέβειαν ποικίλας βασάνους μέχρι θανάτου ὑπομείνασαν; |
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| 8 | Indeed it would be proper to inscribe upon their tomb these words as a reminder to the people of our nation: | | καὶ γὰρ ἄξιον ἦν καὶ ἐπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἐπιταφίου ἀναγράψαι καὶ ταῦτα τοῖς ἀπὸ τοῦ ἔθνους εἰς μνείαν λεγόμενα |
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| 9 | "Here lie buried an aged priest and an aged woman and seven sons, because of the violence of thetyrant who wished to destroy the way of life of the Hebrews. | | Ἑνταῦθα γέρων ἱερεὺς καὶ γυνὴ γεραιὰ καὶ ἑπτὰ παῖδες ἐγκεκήδευνται διὰ τυράννου βίαν τὴν Εβραίων πολιτείαν καταλῦσαι θέλοντος, |
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| 10 | They vindicated their nation, looking to God and enduring torture even to death." | | οἳ καὶ ἐξεδίκησαν τὸ γένος εἰς θεὸν ἀφορῶντες καὶ μέχρι θανάτου τὰς βασάνους ὑπομείναντες. |
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| 11 | Truly the contest in which they were engaged was divine, | | Ἀληθῶς γὰρ ἦν ἀγὼν θεῖος ὁ δι' αὐτῶν γεγενημένος. |
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| 12 | for on that day virtue gave the awards and tested them for their endurance. The prize was immortality in endless life. | | ἠθλοθέτει γὰρ τότε ἀρετὴ δι' ὑπομονῆς δοκιμάζουσα. τὸ νῖκος ἀφθαρσία ἐν ζωῇ πολυχρονίῳ. |
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| 13 | Eleazar was the first contestant, the mother of the seven sons entered the competition, and the brothers contended. | | Ελεαζαρ δὲ προηγωνίζετο, ἡ δὲ μήτηρ τῶν ἑπτὰ παίδων ἐνήθλει, οἱ δὲ ἀδελφοὶ ἠγωνίζοντο· |
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| 14 | The tyrant was the antagonist, and the world and the human race were the spectators. | | ὁ τύραννος ἀντηγωνίζετο· ὁ δὲ κόσμος καὶ ὁ τῶν ἀνθρώπων βίος ἐθεώρει· |
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| 15 | Reverence for God was victor and gave the crown to its own athletes. | | θεοσέβεια δὲ ἐνίκα τοὺς ἑαυτῆς ἀθλητὰς στεφανοῦσα. |
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| 16 | Who did not admire the athletes of the divine legislation? Who were not amazed? | | τίνες οὐκ ἐθαύμασαν τοὺς τῆς θείας νομοθεσίας ἀθλητάς; τίνες οὐκ ἐξεπλάγησαν; |
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| 17 | The tyrant himself and all his council marveled at their endurance, | | Αὐτός γέ τοι ὁ τύραννος καὶ ὅλον τὸ συμβούλιον ἐθαύμασαν αὐτῶν τὴν ὑπομονήν, |
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| 18 | because of which they now stand before the divine throne and live through blessed eternity. | | δι' ἣν καὶ τῷ θείῳ νῦν παρεστήκασιν θρόνῳ καὶ τὸν μακάριον βιοῦσιν αἰῶνα. |
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| 19 | For Moses says, "All who are consecrated are under your hands." | | καὶ γάρ φησιν ὁ Μωϋσῆς Καὶ πάντες οἱ ἡγιασμένοι ὑπὸ τὰς χεῖράς σου. |
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| 20 | These, then, who have been consecrated for the sake of God, are honored, not only with this honor, but also by the fact that because of them our enemies did not rule over our nation, | | καὶ οὗτοι οὖν ἁγιασθέντες διὰ θεὸν τετίμηνται, οὐ μόνον ταύτῃ τῇ τιμῇ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ δι' αὐτοὺς τὸ ἔθνος ἡμῶν τοὺς πολεμίους μὴ ἐπικρατῆσαι |
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| 21 | the tyrant was punished, and the homeland purified - they having become, as it were, a ransom for the sin of our nation. | | καὶ τὸν τύραννον τιμωρηθῆναι καὶ τὴν πατρίδα καθαρισθῆναι, ὥσπερ ἀντίψυχον γεγονότας τῆς τοῦ ἔθνους ἁμαρτίας. |
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| 22 | And through the blood of those devout ones and their death as an expiation, divine Providence preserved Israel that previously had been afflicted. | | καὶ διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τῶν εὐσεβῶν ἐκείνων καὶ τοῦ ἱλαστηρίου τοῦ θανάτου αὐτῶν ἡ θεία πρόνοια τὸν Ισραηλ προκακωθέντα διέσωσεν. |
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| 23 | For the tyrant Antiochus, when he saw the courage of their virtue and their endurance under the tortures, proclaimed them to his soldiers as an example for their own endurance, | | Πρὸς γὰρ τὴν ἀνδρείαν αὐτῶν τῆς ἀρετῆς καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ ταῖς βασάνοις αὐτῶν ὑπομονὴν ὁ τύραννος ἀπιδὼν ἀνεκήρυξεν ὁ Ἀντίοχος τοῖς στρατιώταις αὐτοῦ εἰς ὑπόδειγμα τὴν ἐκείνων ὑπομονὴν |
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| 24 | and this made them brave and courageous for infantry battle and siege, and he ravaged and conquered all his enemies. | | ἔσχεν τε αὐτοὺς γενναίους καὶ ἀνδρείους εἰς πεζομαχίαν καὶ πολιορκίαν καὶ ἐκπορθήσας ἐνίκησεν πάντας τοὺς πολεμίους. |
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| 18 1 | O Israelite children, offspring of the seed of Abraham, obey this law and exercise piety in everyway, | | Ὦ τῶν Αβραμιαίων σπερμάτων ἀπόγονοι παῖδες Ισραηλῖται, πείθεσθε τῷ νόμῳ τούτῳ καὶ πάντα τρόπον εὐσεβεῖτε |
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| 2 | knowing that devout reason is master of all emotions, not only of sufferings from within, butalso of those from without. | | γινώσκοντες ὅτι τῶν παθῶν ἐστιν δεσπότης ὁ εὐσεβὴς λογισμὸς καὶ οὐ μόνον τῶν ἔνδοθεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἔξωθεν πόνων. |
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| 3 | Therefore those who gave over their bodies in suffering for the sake of religion were not onlyadmired by men, but also were deemed worthy to share in a divine inheritance. | | Ἀνθ ὧν διὰ τὴν εὐσέβειαν προέμενοι τὰ σώματα τοῖς πόνοις ἐκεῖνοι οὐ μόνον ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐθαυμάσθησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ θείας μερίδος κατηξιώθησαν. |
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| 4 | Because of them the nation gained peace, and by reviving observance of the law in the homeland they ravaged the enemy. | | Καὶ δι' αὐτοὺς εἰρήνευσεν τὸ ἔθνος, καὶ τὴν εὐνομίαν τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς πατρίδος ἀνανεωσάμενοι ἐκπεπόρθηκαν τοὺς πολεμίους. |
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| 5 | The tyrant Antiochus was both punished on earth and is being chastised after his death. Since in no way whatever was he able to compel the Israelites to become pagans and to abandon their ancestral customs, he left Jerusalem and marched against the Persians. | | καὶ ὁ τύραννος Ἀντίοχος καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς τετιμώρηται καὶ ἀποθανὼν κολάζεται· ὡς γὰρ οὐδὲν οὐδαμῶς ἴσχυσεν ἀναγκάσαι τοὺς Ιεροσολυμίτας ἀλλοφυλῆσαι καὶ τῶν πατρίων ἐθῶν ἐκδιαιτηθῆναι, τότε ἀπάρας ἀπὸ τῶν Ιεροσολύμων ἐστράτευσεν ἐπὶ Πέρσας. |
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| 6 | The mother of seven sons expressed also these principles to her children: | | Ἔλεγεν δὲ ἡ μήτηρ τῶν ἑπτὰ παίδων καὶ ταῦτα τὰ δικαιώματα τοῖς τέκνοις |
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| 7 | "I was a pure virgin and did not go outside my father's house; but I guarded the rib from which woman was made. | | ὅτι Ἑγὼ ἐγενήθην παρθένος ἁγνὴ οὐδὲ ὑπερέβην πατρικὸν οἶκον, ἐφύλασσον δὲ τὴν ᾠκοδομημένην πλευράν. |
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| 8 | No seducer corrupted me on a desert plain, nor did the destroyer, the deceitful serpent, defile the purity of my virginity. | | οὐδὲ ἔφθειρέν με λυμεὼν ἐρημίας φθορεὺς ἐν πεδίῳ, οὐδὲ ἐλυμήνατό μου τὰ ἁγνὰ τῆς παρθενίας λυμεὼν ἀπάτης ὄφις. |
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| 9 | In the time of my maturity I remained with my husband, and when these sons had grown up their father died. A happy man was he, who lived out his life with good children, and did not have the grief of bereavement. | | ἔμεινα δὲ χρόνον ἀκμῆς σὺν ἀνδρί· τούτων δὲ ἐνηλίκων γενομένων ἐτελεύτησεν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτῶν, μακάριος μὲν ἐκεῖνος, τὸν γὰρ τῆς εὐτεκνίας βίον ἐπιζήσας τὸν τῆς ἀτεκνίας οὐκ ὠδυνήθη καιρόν. |
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| 10 | While he was still with you, he taught you the law and the prophets. | | ὃς ἐδίδασκεν ὑμᾶς ἔτι ὢν σὺν ὑμῖν τὸν νόμον καὶ τοὺς προφήτας. |
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| 11 | He read to you about Abel slain by Cain, and Isaac who was offered as a burnt offering, and of Joseph in prison. | | τὸν ἀναιρεθέντα Αβελ ὑπὸ Καιν ἀνεγίνωσκέν τε ὑμῖν καὶ τὸν ὁλοκαρπούμενον Ισαακ καὶ τὸν ἐν φυλακῇ Ιωσηφ. |
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| 12 | He told you of the zeal of Phineas, and he taught you about Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael in the fire. | | ἔλεγεν δὲ ὑμῖν τὸν ζηλωτὴν Φινεες, ἐδίδασκέν τε ὑμᾶς τοὺς ἐν πυρὶ Ανανιαν καὶ Αζαριαν καὶ Μισαηλ. |
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| 13 | He praised Daniel in the den of the lions and blessed him. | | ἐδόξαζεν δὲ καὶ τὸν ἐν λάκκῳ λεόντων Δανιηλ, ὃν ἐμακάριζεν. |
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| 14 | He reminded you of the scripture of Isaiah, which says, `Even though you go through the fire, the flame shall not consume you.' | | ὑπεμίμνῃσκεν δὲ ὑμᾶς καὶ τὴν Ησαιου γραφὴν τὴν λέγουσαν Κἂν διὰ πυρὸς διέλθῃς, φλὸξ οὐ κατακαύσει σε. |
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| 15 | He sang to you songs of the psalmist David, who said, `Many are the afflictions of the righteous.' | | τὸν ὑμνογράφον ἐμελῴδει ὑμῖν Δαυιδ λέγοντα Πολλαὶ αἱ θλίψεις τῶν δικαίων. |
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| 16 | He recounted to you Solomon's proverb, `There is a tree of life for those who do his will.' | | τὸν Σαλωμῶντα ἐπαροιμίαζεν ὑμῖν λέγοντα Ξύλον ζωῆς ἐστιν τοῖς ποιοῦσιν αὐτοῦ τὸ θέλημα. |
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| 17 | He confirmed the saying of Ezekiel, `Shall these dry bones live?' | | τὸν Ιεζεκιηλ ἐπιστοποίει τὸν λέγοντα Εἰ ζήσεται τὰ ὀστᾶ τὰ ξηρὰ ταῦτα; |
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| 18 | For he did not forget to teach you the song that Moses taught, which says, | | ᾠδὴν μὲν γάρ, ἣν ἐδίδαξεν Μωϋσῆς, οὐκ ἐπελάθετο διδάσκων τὴν λέγουσαν |
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| 19 | `I kill and I make alive: this is your life and the length of your days.'" | | Ἑγὼ ἀποκτενῶ καὶ ζῆν ποιήσω· αὕτη ἡ ζωὴ ὑμῶν καὶ ἡ μακρότης τῶν ἡμερῶν. |
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| 20 | O bitter was that day - and yet not bitter - when that bitter tyrant of the Greeks quenched fire with fire in his cruel caldrons, and in his burning rage brought those seven sons of the daughter of Abraham to the catapult and back again to more tortures, | | Ὦ πικρᾶς τῆς τότε ἡμέρας καὶ οὐ πικρᾶς, ὅτε ὁ πικρὸς Ἑλλήνων τύραννος πῦρ πυρὶ σβέσας λέβησιν ὠμοῖς καὶ ζέουσι θυμοῖς ἀγαγὼν ἐπὶ τὸν καταπέλτην καὶ πάλιν τὰς βασάνους αὐτοῦ τοὺς ἑπτὰ παῖδας τῆς Αβρααμίτιδος |
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| 21 | pierced the pupils of their eyes and cut out their tongues, and put them to death with varioustortures. | | τὰς τῶν ὀμμάτων κόρας ἐπήρωσεν καὶ γλώσσας ἐξέτεμεν καὶ βασάνοις ποικίλαις ἀπέκτεινεν. |
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| 22 | For these crimes divine justice pursued and will pursue the accursed tyrant. | | ὑπὲρ ὧν ἡ θεία δίκη μετῆλθεν καὶ μετελεύσεται τὸν ἀλάστορα τύραννον. |
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| 23 | But the sons of Abraham with their victorious mother are gathered together into the chorus of the fathers, and have received pure and immortal souls from God, | | οἱ δὲ Αβραμιαῖοι παῖδες σὺν τῇ ἀθλοφόρῳ μητρὶ εἰς πατέρων χορὸν συναγελάζονται ψυχὰς ἁγνὰς καὶ ἀθανάτους ἀπειληφότες παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ. |
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| 24 | to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. | | ᾧ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· αμην. |
