16
When Judas and the people heard all this, a great assembly was held to decide what should be done to help these countrymen, who were in such difficulty under enemy attack.
17
Judas said to his brother Simon, "Choose some men and go 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.
19
He told them: "I am leaving you in command here, but don't go out and fight the Gentiles until we get back."
20
Then 3,000 men joined Simon for the march into Galilee, and 8,000 remained with Judas for the march into Gilead.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.