24. "It’s not worthy of our old age to act out such a role. Otherwise, many of the young would assume wrongly that Eleazar the 90-year-old had changed to a foreign way of life.
25. If I acted out this charade for the sake of living a moment longer, I would mislead them, and I would be defiled and dishonored in my old age.
26. Even if I escaped the punishment of human beings for the moment, I would certainly not escape the hands of the almighty—whether alive or dead.