Given by: the narrator of 2 Maccabees, commending Judas Maccabeus, who made a sin-offering for the fallen 'thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection' (12:43–45). Given to: God's people, that they might remember the dead in prayer.

In the belief of the faithful, the dead are not beyond the reach of God's mercy or the prayers of the living. Judas's offering, and this verse, express a hope in the resurrection that makes remembrance of the departed an act of faith and love.

It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.

It is a holy and wholesome thing to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins.

2 Maccabees 12:46

Your Spirit

Loves God

Loves Neighbor

Your Body

Moral Behaviour