11. One said, "Have courage, brother!" Another said, "Keep going with honor!"
12. Still another reminded them, "Remember where you came from. Remember the father by whose hand Isaac was ready to be killed because of his devotion to God!"
13. All of them were looking at each other with faces that were bright and full of courage, and said, "Let’s set ourselves apart for God with all our hearts. He gave us our lives, so let’s use our bodies as guards around the Law.
14. Let’s not be afraid of the one who wants to kill us;
15. because the soul’s contest is great, the danger of eternal punishment prepared for those who break God’s command is severe.
16. So then, let’s arm ourselves fully with the power that clear thinking gives for the control of the emotions.
17. If we die this way, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will give us a warm welcome, and all the ancestors will praise us."
18. The brothers who were left behind were calling out to each one as he was being dragged away, "Don’t let us down, brother, or be disloyal to the brothers who have died before us!"
19. No doubt you are aware of the powerful love that exists between brothers and sisters. Divine and wise providence gives this kind of love through the father and plants it in the mother’s womb.
20. These brothers all spent the same length of time in the same womb. They were formed over the same period of time. They grew from the same blood, and they were brought to full term with the same life.