20
These, then, who have been consecrated for the sake of God, are honored, not only with this honor, but also by the fact that because of them our enemies did not rule over our nation,
18
because of which they now stand before the divine throne and live through blessed eternity.
19
For Moses says, "All who are consecrated are under your hands."
20
These, then, who have been consecrated for the sake of God, are honored, not only with this honor, but also by the fact that because of them our enemies did not rule over our nation,
21
the tyrant was punished, and the homeland purified -- they having become, as it were, a ransom for the sin of our nation.
22
And through the blood of those devout ones and their death as an expiation, divine Providence preserved Israel that previously had been afflicted.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.