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.
21
Simon went into Galilee and fought many battles with the Gentiles. He defeated them
22
and pursued them all the way to the city of Ptolemais, killing about 3,000 of them, and taking the loot.
23
Then he took the Jews who were in Galilee and Arbatta, with their wives, their children, and all they owned, and brought them back to Judea with him. There was great rejoicing.
24
During this time, Judas Maccabeus and his brother Jonathan had crossed the Jordan River and had marched for three days through the desert.
25
They met some friendly Nabateans who told them all that had happened to the Jews in Gilead.
26
They reported that many Jews were imprisoned in the fortified cities of Bozrah, Bosor, Alema, Chaspho, Maked, and Karnaim,
27
while others were imprisoned in the smaller towns of Gilead. They also reported that the enemy was drawn up to make an attack the next day on the Jewish fortresses, hoping to destroy all the Jews in a single day.
28
So Judas and his army suddenly turned and attacked Bozrah by the desert road, captured the town, and killed every man in it. They looted the town and set it on fire.