3. Because of this, those who gave up their bodies to suffering for the sake of the godly way of life not only won human admiration but were also judged to be worthy of a divine reward.
4. The nation was at peace again because of them. Once obedience to the Law had been revived across the nation, they slaughtered their enemies.
5. The tyrant Antiochus was punished on earth, and he continues to be punished after death. By no means could he force the Israelites to adopt a foreign way of life and to change the customs of their ancestors in any way, and so he left Jerusalem and marched out against Persia.
6. The mother of the seven sons also shared these moral principles with her children:
7. "I was a virgin who was sexually pure: I didn’t go outside of my father’s house, but I carefully took care of the body that was formed from a rib.
8. No man who takes advantage of women ever tempted me to have sex in an isolated field. The destructive, lying snake didn’t ruin my innocence either.