1 When Eleazar had answered the tyrant’s arguments, the soldiers who were standing by hauled him off to the instruments used for torture.
2 First they tore off the old man’s clothes, though he was still decently dressed by his respect for God.
3 They tied his arms behind him and began to whip him from both sides
4 while an official kept calling out, "Obey the king’s orders!"
5 But Eleazar was dignified and generous. He experienced the truth of his name and seemed like a person being tortured only in a dream. He didn’t change his resolve in any way.
6 The old man kept his eyes raised toward heaven while the whips tore into his flesh, ripped his sides, and made his blood flow.
7 His body fell to the ground because it couldn’t stand the pain, but he kept his thinking upright and unbending.