4 Maccabees 8:5-7

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

⁵ “Young men, with favorable feelings I admire each and every one of you and greatly respect the beauty and the number of such brothers. Not only do I advise you not to display the same madness as that of the old man who has just been tortured, but I also exhort you to yield to me and enjoy my friendship. ⁶ Just as I am able to punish those who disobey my orders, so I can be a benefactor to those who are disposed to obey me. ⁷ Trust me, then, and you will receive positions of authority in my government if you will renounce the ancestral tradition of your national life.^(A)