14 Before Judas finished reading this letter, messengers arrived from Galilee. They had torn their clothes to show their sorrow,
15 and they said, “An army is ready to destroy us. It is made up of Gentiles from all over Galilee and of troops from the cities of Ptolemais, Tyre, and Sidon.”
16 Judas and his troops listened to these reports. Then they called together a large group to decide what should be done to help those who were in danger and under attack.
17 Judas said to his brother Simon, “Take some soldiers to Galilee and rescue our people. Our brother Jonathan and I will lead an army to Gilead.”
18-19 Judas left two officials, Azariah and Joseph, in command of his troops in Judea, and he told them, “You're in charge. But don't attack the Gentiles until we return.”
20 Simon led 3,000 soldiers to Galilee, and Judas took 8,000 to Gilead.
21 In Galilee, Simon had to attack the Gentiles many times before completely destroying them.