MAKKABI
Cabu a Palinah
Olrhannah
4 Maccabees cabu he cueinah ol neh a boelrhai la om tih kotue rhamtang ah rhaengpuei loh a tae mai coini. Judah hlang khatkhat loh Greek ol la a tael cabu la om. A taelnah khohni uh loh ming pawt dae a.d. yacut pali tluk vaengah a tael. Olpuei koek la kohlopnah boeih te Pathen tangnah, poeknah neh khingmong tumbaem a ngoe kawng a thui. .
Cadaekkung long he Greek rhoek kah poeknah neh a tong dae Pathen ah tangnah kawng neh pitpom sak pawh. He cabu loh a lungui la a thui koek tah Moses Olkhueng dongah uepom la om he ni cueinah a kung la a thui. Cimphan la poek tih Pathen tangnah neh bibinah long pilnam khaw uehnah, kuemsuemnah, rhalthennah, hlangtloe taengah langya la omnah ham a rhoeng sak. Cadaekung loh thuinuetnah muep a paek. A pacuek ah tah Baibal dongkah patuel mingthang rhoek thuinuetnah la thui. Te lamlong tah Eleazar neh Makkabi Cabu pabae a boel 3-6 dongkah boeinaphung pathum kawng a tui. A cimphan la poeknah long tah pilnam he patangnah, hnaemtaeknah khui ah khaw ueh nah a paek thai tila a thuicaih. Tahae tue kah tangca pilnam ham khaw a cimphan la poek tih Pathen tangnah he hinglu ham dungyan hingnah ti hmuh thai.
Sawt Yoeinah
Poekcimnah loh kohlopnah a khoembael (1.1—3.19)
Ukkung loh bawkim a yoop (3.20—4.26)
Poekcimnah neh Pathen tangnah loh a thae a ta (5.1—18.24)
1
Cabu Thuicaihnah
He kawng dongah poeknah kawng ni muep thuicaih ham ka cai. Poeknah cimphan la a om atah kohlopnah khaw boeih a ta. Te dongah kamah long tah poeknah kawng dongah na hnatung ham he ka ngaih. Hekah a kawng he mingnah aka tlap boeih ham olpuei la om tih a sang koek khoboe then koehnah neh a thap. Te dongah a thuem la khingmongnah kawng he a thui. Te daengah ni kuemsuem nah aka dah kung carhut neh hoehhamnah boeih te taemrhai thai eh. Kohlopnah he thailainah la om tih tiktamnah a kanghalh khaw cimphan la tueng ngawn. Aming la thui koinih thinsanah, rhihnah, tlohyaknah long he thinomnah khaw a nong tak. A ngen loh, “Khingmongnah loh kohlopnah a uk atah, balae tih hnilhmanah neh hnalvalnah tah a uk pawh?” a ti uh. Amih kah veet tih a oelhnah khaw nueih thaboep!* For reason does not rule its own emotions, but those that are opposed to justice, courage, and self-control; and it is not for the purpose of destroying them, but so that one may not give way to them.
I could prove to you from many and various examples that reason is dominant over the emotions, but I can demonstrate it best from the noble bravery of those who died for the sake of virtue, Eleazar and the seven brothers and their mother. All of these, by despising sufferings that bring death, demonstrated that reason controls the emotions. 10 On this anniversary§ it is fitting for me to praise for their virtues those who, with their mother, died for the sake of nobility and goodness, but I would also call them blessed for the honor in which they are held. 11 All people, even their torturers, marveled at their courage and endurance, and they became the cause of the downfall of tyranny over their nation. By their endurance they conquered the tyrant, and thus their native land was purified through them. 12 I shall shortly have an opportunity to speak of this; but, as my custom is, I shall begin by stating my main principle, and then I shall turn to their story, giving glory to the all-wise God.
The Supremacy of Reason
13 Our inquiry, accordingly, is whether reason is sovereign over the emotions. 14 We shall decide just what reason is and what emotion is, how many kinds of emotions there are, and whether reason rules over all these. 15 Now reason is the mind that with sound logic prefers the life of wisdom. 16 Wisdom, next, is the knowledge of divine and human matters and the causes of these. 17 This, in turn, is education in the law, by which we learn divine matters reverently and human affairs to our advantage. 18 Now the kinds of wisdom are rational judgment, justice, courage, and self-control. 19 Rational judgment is supreme over all of these, since by means of it reason rules over the emotions. 20 The two most comprehensive types* of the emotions are pleasure and pain; and each of these is by nature concerned with both body and soul. 21 The emotions of both pleasure and pain have many consequences. 22 Thus desire precedes pleasure and delight follows it. 23 Fear precedes pain and sorrow comes after. 24 Anger, as a person will see by reflecting on this experience, is an emotion embracing pleasure and pain. 25 In pleasure there exists even a malevolent tendency, which is the most complex of all the emotions. 26 In the soul it is boastfulness, covetousness, thirst for honor, rivalry, and malice; 27 in the body, indiscriminate eating, gluttony, and solitary gormandizing.
28 Just as pleasure and pain are two plants growing from the body and the soul, so there are many offshoots of these plants, 29 each of which the master cultivator, reason, weeds and prunes and ties up and waters and thoroughly irrigates, and so tames the jungle of habits and emotions. 30 For reason is the guide of the virtues, but over the emotions it is sovereign.
Observe now, first of all, that rational judgment is sovereign over the emotions by virtue of the restraining power of self-control. 31 Self-control, then, is dominance over the desires. 32 Some desires are mental, others are physical, and reason obviously rules over both. 33 Otherwise, how is it that when we are attracted to forbidden foods we abstain from the pleasure to be had from them? Is it not because reason is able to rule over appetites? I for one think so. 34 Therefore when we crave seafood and fowl and animals and all sorts of foods that are forbidden to us by the law, we abstain because of domination by reason. 35 For the emotions of the appetites are restrained, checked by the temperate mind, and all the impulses of the body are bridled by reason.
* 1:5 Or Kai kah oelhnah he nueih thaboep la a saii uh! 1:6 Other ancient authorities add and rational judgment 1:7 Other ancient authorities read devout reason § 1:10 Gk At this time * 1:20 Or sources 1:28 Other ancient authorities read these emotions