Resurrection as Reward for the Righteous

⁹And when he was at his last breath, he said, “You accursed wretch, you dismiss us from this present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws.”

¹⁰After him, the third was the victim of their sport. When it was demanded, he quickly put out his tongue and courageously stretched forth his hands, ¹¹and said nobly, “I got these from Heaven, and because of his laws I disdain them, and from him I hope to get them back again.” ¹²As a result the king himself and those with him were astonished at the young man’s spirit, for he regarded his sufferings as nothing.

¹³After he too had died, they maltreated and tortured the fourth in the same way. ¹⁴When he was near death, he said, “One cannot but choose to die at the hands of mortals and to cherish the hope God gives of being raised again by him. But for you there will be no resurrection to life!”

Translation from the New Revised Standard Version.