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2 Maccabees 7:38-40
New Catholic Bible
2 Maccabees 7:38-40
New Catholic Bible
38 Through me and my brothers may there be an end to the wrath of the Almighty[a] that has justifiably fallen on our entire nation.”
39 On hearing this, the king became enraged and dealt with him even more cruelly than with the others because of his defiance. 40 And so the young man, having placed all his trust in the Lord, died undefiled.
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- 2 Maccabees 7:38 An end to the wrath of the Almighty: this was to be achieved by increasing the suffering of Israel to such an extent that God would be moved to intervene for them (see Deut 32:36; Jdg 2:18). The apocryphal Book of 4 Maccabees, on the other hand, attributes this end to the Maccabees atoning for Israel’s sins by their death: “All people, even the torturers [of the Maccabees], marveled at their courage and endurance, and [the Maccabees] became the cause of the downfall of tyranny over their nation. By their endurance they conquered the tyrant, and thus their native land was cleansed through them” (4 Mac 1:11; see also 17:20-22).
