12 Many of us have already been killed. Come and rescue us!
13 All the Jewish men in the region of Tob have been killed, their wives and their children have been taken captive, and their possessions have been carried off. A force of about a thousand men has been destroyed there.”
14 This letter was still being read when other messengers, who had torn their clothes in sorrow, arrived with a report from Galilee.
15 They said, “An army from Ptolemais, Tyre, Sidon, and the whole of Galilee has come together to destroy us.”
16 When Judas and the people heard all this, a great assembly was held to decide what should be done to help their countrymen, who were in such difficulty under enemy attack.
17 Judas said to his brother Simon, “Choose some men and go and rescue our fellow-Jews in Galilee; our brother Jonathan and I will go to Gilead.”
18 Judas left the rest of his army to defend Judea and put the two leaders, Azariah and Joseph son of Zechariah, in charge of the people.