4 Maccabees 14:11-17:6

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

An Encomium on the Mother of the Seven

¹¹ Do not consider it amazing that reason had full command over these men in their tortures, since even the mind of woman despised more diverse agonies, ¹² for the mother of the seven young men bore up under the rackings of each one of her children.

¹³ Observe how complex is a mother’s love for her children, which draws everything toward a sympathy felt in her inmost parts. ¹⁴ Even unreasoning animals, as well as humans, have a sympathy and parental love for their offspring. ¹⁵ For example, among birds, the ones that are tame protect their young by building on the housetops, ¹⁶ and the others, by building at the tops of mountains and the depths of chasms, in holes of trees, and on treetops, hatch the nestlings and ward off the intruder. ¹⁷ If they are not able to keep the intruder^[a] away, they do what they can to help their young by flying in circles around them in the anguish of love, warning them with their own calls. ¹⁸ And why is it necessary to demonstrate sympathy for children by the example of unreasoning animals, ¹⁹ since even bees at the time for making honeycombs defend themselves against intruders and, as though with an iron dart, sting those who approach their hive and defend it even to the death? ²⁰ But sympathy for her children did not sway the mother of the young men; she was of the same mind as Abraham.^(A)

15 O reason of the children, tyrant over the passions! O piety, more desirable to the mother than her children! ² Two courses were open to this mother, that of piety and that of preserving her seven sons for a time, as the tyrant had promised. ³ She loved piety more, the piety that preserves them for eternal life according to God’s promise.^{[b] 4} In what manner might I express the passions of parents who love their children? We impress upon the character of a small child a wondrous likeness both of mind and of form. Especially is this true of mothers, who because of their birth pangs have a deeper sympathy toward their offspring than do the fathers. ⁵ For to the extent that mothers are of tender spirit and bear more children, so much the more attached are they to their children. ⁶ The mother of the seven boys, more than any other mother, loved her children. In seven pregnancies she had implanted in herself tender love toward them, ⁷ and because of the many pains she suffered with each of them she had sympathy for them, ⁸ yet because of the fear of God she disdained the temporary safety of her children. ⁹ Not only so, but also because of the nobility of her sons and their ready obedience to the law, she felt a greater tenderness toward them. ¹⁰ For they were just and self-controlled and courageous and magnanimous and loved their brothers and their mother so that they obeyed her even to death in keeping the ordinances.

¹¹ Nevertheless, though so many factors influenced the mother to suffer with them out of love for her children, in the case of none of them were the various tortures strong enough to pervert her reason. ¹² But each child separately and all of them together the mother urged on to death for piety’s sake.^{(B) 13} O sacred nature, parental affection, tender love toward offspring, nursing, and indomitable maternal passions! ¹⁴ This mother, who saw them tortured and burned one by one, for piety’s sake did not change her attitude. ¹⁵ She watched the flesh of her children being consumed by fire, their toes and fingers scattered^[c] on the ground, and the flesh of the head to the chin exposed like masks.

¹⁶ O mother, tried now by more bitter pains than even the birth pangs you suffered for them! ¹⁷ O woman, who alone gave birth to such perfect piety! ¹⁸ Neither when the firstborn breathed his last, it did not turn you aside, nor when the second in torments looked at you piteously nor when the third expired, ¹⁹ nor did you weep when you looked at the eyes of each one in his tortures gazing boldly at the same agonies and saw in their nostrils the signs of the approach of death. ²⁰ When you saw the flesh of children burned^[d] upon the flesh of other children, severed hands upon hands, scalped heads upon heads, and corpses fallen on other corpses, and when you saw the place filled with many spectators because of the children’s torments, you did not shed tears. ²¹ Neither the melodies of sirens nor the songs of swans attract the attention of their hearers as did the voices of the children in torture calling to their mother. ²² How great and how many torments the mother then suffered as her sons were tortured on the wheel and with the hot irons! ²³ But pious reason, giving her heart a man’s courage in the very midst of her passions, strengthened her to disregard, for the time, her parental love.^(C)

²⁴ Although she witnessed the destruction of seven children and the ingenious and various rackings, this noble mother disregarded all these^[e] because of faith in God. ²⁵ For as in the council chamber of her own soul she saw mighty advocates—nature, family, parental love, and the instruments of torture awaiting her children— ²⁶ this mother held two ballots, one bearing death and the other deliverance for her children.^{(D) 27} She did not approve the deliverance that would preserve the seven sons for a short time, ²⁸ but as the daughter of God-fearing Abraham she remembered his fortitude.

²⁹ O mother of the nation, vindicator of the law, and defender of piety who carried away the prize of the contest in your heart! ³⁰ O more noble than males in steadfastness and more courageous than men in endurance! ³¹ Just as Noah’s ark, carrying the world in the universal flood, stoutly endured the waves,^{(E) 32} so you, O guardian of the law, overwhelmed from every side by the flood of your passions and the violent winds—the torture of your sons—endured nobly and withstood the wintry storms raging on piety’s account.

16 If, then, a woman advanced in years and mother of seven sons endured seeing her children tortured to death, it must be admitted that pious reason is sovereign over the passions. ² Thus I have demonstrated not only that men have ruled over the passions but also that a woman has despised the fiercest tortures. ³ The lions surrounding Daniel were not so savage nor was the raging fiery furnace of Mishael so intensely hot as was her innate parental love consuming her as she saw her seven sons tortured in such varied ways.^{(F) 4} But the mother quenched so many and such great passions by pious reason.

⁵ Consider this also: If this woman, though a mother, had been fainthearted, she would have mourned over them and perhaps spoken as follows: ⁶ “O how wretched am I and thrice-wretched over and over! After bearing seven children, I am now the mother of none! ⁷ O seven childbirths all in vain, seven profitless pregnancies, fruitless nurturings and wretched nursings! ⁸ In vain, my sons, I endured many birth pangs for you and the more grievous anxieties of your upbringing. ⁹ Alas for my children, some unmarried, others married and without offspring.^[f] I shall not see your children or have the happiness of being called grandmother. ¹⁰ Alas, I who had so many and beautiful children am a widow and alone, with many sorrows.^{[g] 11} And when I die, I shall have none of my sons to bury me.”

¹² Yet that holy and God-fearing mother did not wail with such a lament for any of them, nor did she dissuade any of them from dying, nor did she grieve as they were dying. ¹³ On the contrary, as though having a mind like adamant and giving rebirth for immortality to the whole number of her sons, she implored them and urged them on to death for the sake of piety.^{(G) 14} O mother, soldier of God in the cause of piety, elder and woman! By steadfastness you have conquered even a tyrant, and in word and deed you have proved more powerful than a man. ¹⁵ For when you and your sons were arrested together, you stood and watched Eleazar being tortured and said to your sons in the Hebrew language,^{(H) 16} “My sons, noble is the contest to which you are called to bear witness for the nation. Fight zealously for our ancestral law. ¹⁷ For it would be shameful if, while an aged man endures such agonies for the sake of piety, you young men were to be terrified by tortures. ¹⁸ Remember that it is through God that you have had a share in the world and have enjoyed life, ¹⁹ and therefore you ought to endure every suffering for the sake of God. ²⁰ For his sake also our father Abraham was zealous to sacrifice his son Isaac, the ancestor of our nation, and when Isaac saw his father’s hand wielding a knife^[h] and descending upon him, he did not cower.^{(I) 21} Daniel the righteous was thrown to the lions, and Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael were hurled into the fiery furnace and endured it for the sake of God.^{(J) 22} You, too, must show the same faithfulness toward God and not be grieved. ²³ It is unreasonable for people who have knowledge of piety not to withstand pain.”

²⁴ By these words the mother of the seven encouraged and persuaded each of her sons to die rather than violate God’s commandment. ²⁵ They knew also that those who die for the sake of God live to God, as do Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the patriarchs.^(K)

17 Some of the guards said that when she also was about to be seized and put to death she threw herself into the flames so that no one might touch her body.^(L)

² O mother, who with your seven sons nullified the violence of the tyrant, frustrated his evil designs, and showed the nobility of your faith! ³ Nobly set like a roof on the pillars of your sons, you held firm and unswerving against the earthquake of the tortures. ⁴ Take courage, therefore, O holy-minded mother, maintaining firm an enduring hope in God. ⁵ The moon in heaven with the stars is not so majestic as you, who, after lighting the way of your star-like seven sons to piety, stand in honor before God and are firmly set in heaven with them. ⁶ For your children were true descendants of father Abraham.^[i]