1
The tyrant Antiochus, sitting in state with his counselors on a certain high place, and with his armed soldiers standing about him,
2
ordered the guards to seize each and every Hebrew and to compel them to eat pork and food sacrificed to idols.
3
If any were not willing to eat defiling food, they were to be broken on the wheel and killed.
4
And when many persons had been rounded up, one man, Eleazar by name, leader of the flock, was brought before the king. He was a man of priestly family, learned in the law, advanced in age, and known to many in the tyrant's court because of his philosophy.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.