1
[1] But these five children of Meqabees, who believed, gave their bodies to death, refusing to eat the sacrifice offered to idols.
[2] For they knew that to be upright with God surpasses being upright with men, and God's anger is greater than the king's anger.
[3] Knowing that this world will totally pass away and that its pleasures will not last forever, they gave their bodies to the fire so they might be saved from the fire in Heaven.
[4] As they knew that being righteous in the Garden (Paradise) for one day is better than living many eras in this world—and that finding Your pardon for one hour, O Lord, is better than many eras—they gave their bodies to the fire.
[5] What is our era? It is like a shadow, or like passing wax that melts and perishes at the edge of a fire; is it not like that?
[6] But You, Lord, live forever;
2
Your era is never fulfilled, and the mention of Your Name is for generations to come.
[7] The children of Meqabees thought on all this; refusing to eat a disgusting sacrifice, they chose to believe in the Lord.
[8] Knowing they would arise with the dead, and acting because of the Lord—knowing that Judgment shall be judged after the Resurrection of the Council—for this reason they gave their bodies to martyrdom.
[9] You people who do not know or believe that the dead will rise—know that the Life they find later will surpass this passing earthly life. Because these five children of Meqabees together gave their bodies to death, and because their appearance was handsome, afterward they knew the Resurrection.
[10] Because they believed in Him, knowing all shall pass, and because they did not bow to idols or eat a disgusting sacrifice that gives no support, they gave their bodies to death to find thanks from the Lord.
[11] Because they knew He would make them righteous in flesh and soul in a later era, they did not consider this world's flavor or the tribulation of death a serious thing, even for those who had children and wives.
3
Knowing the Resurrection would be in flesh and soul on the Day of Advent, they gave their bodies to death.
[12] And knowing that those who kept the Lord's Law—along with the nobles and kings who believed the Lord's Word and were kind—
[13] shall live reigning for generations for many eras in the Kingdom of Heaven, where there is no sadness, tribulation, or death. Knowing in their reasoning what would be done later—how the world melts like wax in a fire—for this reason they gave their bodies to death.
[14] Believing that their faces would shine seven times brighter than the Sun, and that they would be joyful in His love when all arise in flesh and soul, they gave their bodies to death.