10 They sent a letter to Judas and his brothers saying: “The Gentiles around us have assembled against us to destroy us,
11 and they are preparing to come and seize this stronghold to which we have fled. Timothy is the leader of their army.
12 Come at once to rescue us from them, for many of us have fallen.
13 All our kindred who were in the territory of the Tobiads have been killed; the Gentiles have captured their wives, their children and their goods, and they have slain there about a thousand men.”
14 While they were reading this letter, suddenly other messengers, with garments torn, arrived from Galilee to deliver a similar message:
15 that “the inhabitants of Ptolemais, Tyre, and Sidon, and the whole of Gentile Galilee have joined forces to destroy us.”
16 When Judas and the people heard this, a great assembly convened to consider what they should do for their kindred who were in distress and being attacked by enemies.