17 Just wait! God will use his mighty power to make you and your family suffer.”
18 Next, they tortured the sixth brother. He was almost dead when he told the men, “Don't fool yourselves! We're suffering all these terrible things because we have disobeyed our God.
19 Now you're fighting against God, so don't think that you won't be punished too.”
20 The mother of these young men was a wonderful woman, and she deserves to be remembered with praise. She saw all seven of her sons die on the same day, but she was brave and never stopped trusting the Lord.
21 She was a very special person, and with the feelings of a woman and the courage of a man, she encouraged each of her sons by telling them in their native language:
22 My son, I don't understand how you grew inside me. I am not the one who gave you life and breath or shaped your bodies.
23 You are sacrificing your life to obey the laws of the God who created this world and all of its people. But God will be merciful and give life and breath back to you.