2 Maccabees, 4
16. For the sake of these, they held a dangerous competition, and were imitators of their practices, and so, in all things, they desired to be similar to those who had been their enemies and destroyers.
16. For the sake of these, they held a dangerous competition, and were imitators of their practices, and so, in all things, they desired to be similar to those who had been their enemies and destroyers.
Chapter 4 of 2 Macabees portrays corruption and paganism that permeated Judaism at the time of the high priest Jason. He had bribed the governor of Syria to obtain the position and instituted pagan practices in the Jerusalem temple. In addition, he fiercely pursued the faithful Jews who resisted these changes. Below are five verses related to the topics covered in the chapter:
Ecclesiastes 5:8 - "If you see in some province the oppression of the poor and violence of law and justice, you do not admit to such procedure; for those who are highly placed have superior that watches, and there is even higher upon them." This verse reflects the corruption and injustice that happened in the time of Jason, where the oppression of the poor and violence against the righteous were common.
Isaiah 56:10-11 - "Their atalanes are blind, all ignorant; they are silent dogs, they cannot bark; they are dormant, they are lying, and they like sleep. And these dogs are greedy, they cannot be bound; and they They are pastors who understand nothing; they all become to their path, each for their greed, each one by their own. " This verse denounces the corrupt religious leadership that neglected its responsibilities in favor of its own selfish interests.
Ezekiel 22:26 - "His priests violate my law and profane my holy things; between the saint and the profane make no difference, nor discern the impure of the pure, and from my Saturdays hide their eyes, and so I am profane among them. " This verse illustrates as Jason and his followers profanned the temple of Jerusalem, mixing pagan practices with worship of the God of Israel.
Psalm 10:15 - "Break the wicked and evil arm; he scans his wickedness until he finds nothing anymore." This verse reflects the hope of the godly Jews that God would judge the wicked and restore the purity of the temple.
Daniel 12:10 - "Many shall be purified, and clinked, and proven; but the wicked shall imply, and none of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand." This verse indicates that although the wicked were on the rise in Jason's time, there were still those who remained faithful and would be purified through their trials.
“O trabalho é tão sagrado como a oração”. São Padre Pio de Pietrelcina