Common English Bible

4 Maccabees 6:1-8 Common English Bible (CEB)

1. When Eleazar had answered the tyrant’s arguments, the soldiers who were standing by hauled him off to the instruments used for torture.

2. First they tore off the old man’s clothes, though he was still decently dressed by his respect for God.

3. They tied his arms behind him and began to whip him from both sides

4. while an official kept calling out, "Obey the king’s orders!"

5. But Eleazar was dignified and generous. He experienced the truth of his name and seemed like a person being tortured only in a dream. He didn’t change his resolve in any way.

6. The old man kept his eyes raised toward heaven while the whips tore into his flesh, ripped his sides, and made his blood flow.

7. His body fell to the ground because it couldn’t stand the pain, but he kept his thinking upright and unbending.

8. One of the cruel guards rushed up to him and started kicking him in his side to make him stand up again.