7. After the first brother had died in this manner, they brought the second to be made sport of. After tearing off the skin and hair of his head, they asked him, “Will you eat the pork rather than have your body tortured limb by limb?”
8. Answering in the language of his ancestors, he said, “Never!” So he in turn suffered the same tortures as the first.
9. With his last breath he said: “You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up to live again forever, because we are dying for his laws.”
10. After him the third suffered their cruel sport. He put forth his tongue at once when told to do so, and bravely stretched out his hands,
11. as he spoke these noble words: “It was from Heaven that I received these; for the sake of his laws I disregard them; from him I hope to receive them again.”
12. Even the king and his attendants marveled at the young man’s spirit, because he regarded his sufferings as nothing.
13. After he had died, they tortured and maltreated the fourth brother in the same way.
14. When he was near death, he said, “It is my choice to die at the hands of mortals with the hope that God will restore me to life; but for you, there will be no resurrection to life.”
15. They next brought forward the fifth brother and maltreated him.
16. Looking at the king, he said: “Mortal though you are, you have power over human beings, so you do what you please. But do not think that our nation is forsaken by God.
17. Only wait, and you will see how his great power will torment you and your descendants.”
18. After him they brought the sixth brother. When he was about to die, he said: “Have no vain illusions. We suffer these things on our own account, because we have sinned against our God; that is why such shocking things have happened.
19. Do not think, then, that you will go unpunished for having dared to fight against God.”
20. Most admirable and worthy of everlasting remembrance was the mother who, seeing her seven sons perish in a single day, bore it courageously because of her hope in the Lord.
21. Filled with a noble spirit that stirred her womanly reason with manly emotion, she exhorted each of them in the language of their ancestors with these words: