4 He has shown you his greatness even there. Exalt him in the presence of every living being, because he is our Lord and he is our God; he is our Father and he is God forever. 5 He will afflict you for your iniquities, but he will again show mercy on all of you. He will gather you from all the nations among whom you have been scattered. 6 If you turn to him with all your heart and with all your soul, to do what is true before him, then he will turn to you and will no longer hide his face from you. So now see what he has done for you; acknowledge him at the top of your voice. Bless the Lord of righteousness, and exalt the King of the ages. In the land of my exile I acknowledge him, and show his power and majesty to a nation of sinners: "Turn back, you sinners, and do what is right before him; perhaps he may look with favor upon you and show you mercy.' 7 As for me, I exalt my God, and my soul rejoices in the King of heaven. 8 Let all people speak of his majesty, and acknowledge him in Jerusalem.

For the God whom we serve is able to deliver us out of the furnace of burning fire; and He will deliver us from your hands, O king. And if not, be it known unto you, that we do not serve your gods, and we do not adore the golden image which you have set up. And Daniel, devoted to God, and filled with the Holy Spirit, exclaims and says: I worship nothing but the Lord my God, who founded the heaven and the earth. Tobias also, although under a royal and tyrannical slavery, yet in feeling and spirit free, maintains his confession to God, and sublimely announces both the divine power and majesty, saying: In the land of my captivity I confess to Him, and I show forth His power in a sinful nation. What, indeed, do we find in the Maccabees of seven brethren, equals alike in their lot of birth and virtues, filling up the number seven in the sacrament of a perfected completion? Seven brethren were thus associating in martyrdom.