3. The oppression was harsh and almost intolerable.
4. Gentiles filled the Temple with drinking parties and all sorts of immorality. They even had intercourse with prostitutes there. Forbidden objects were brought into the Temple,
5. and the altar was covered with detestable sacrifices prohibited by our Law.
6. It was impossible to observe the Sabbath, to celebrate any of the traditional festivals, or even so much as to admit to being a Jew.
7. Each month when the king's birthday was celebrated, the Jews were compelled by brute force to eat the intestines of sacrificial animals. Then, during the festival in honour of the wine god Dionysus, they were required to wear ivy wreaths on their heads and march in procession.
8. On the advice of Ptolemy, the neighbouring Greek cities were also instructed to require Jews to eat the sacrifices;
9. they were told to put to death every Jew who refused to adopt the Greek way of life. It was easy to see that hard times were ahead.
10. For example, two women were arrested for having their babies circumcised. They were paraded round the city with their babies hung from their breasts; then they were thrown down from the city wall.
11. On another occasion, Philip was told that some Jews had gathered in a nearby cave to observe the Sabbath in secret. Philip attacked and burnt them all alive. They had such respect for the Sabbath that they would not fight to defend themselves.
12. I beg you not to become discouraged as you read about the terrible things that happened. Consider that this was the Lord's way of punishing his people, not of destroying them.
13. In fact, it is a sign of kindness to punish a person immediately for his sins, rather than to wait a long time.
14. The Lord does not treat us as he does other nations; he waits patiently until they have become deeply involved in sin before he punishes them,
15. but he punishes us before we have sinned too much.
16. So the Lord is always merciful to us, his own people. Although he punishes us with disasters, he never abandons us.
17. I have made these few observations by way of reminder. We will now get on with the story.
18. There was an elderly and highly respected teacher of the Law by the name of Eleazar, whose mouth was being forced open to make him eat pork.
19-20. But he preferred an honourable death rather than a life of disgrace. So he spat out the meat and went willingly to the place of torture, showing how people should have courage to refuse unclean food, even if it costs them their lives.