Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. 
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! 
Behold thy king will come to thee;
Vindicated and victorious is he,
Humble, and riding upon an ass. 
Upon the foal of an ass. 
He shall cut off chariots from Ephraim,
And horses from Jerusalem;
The battle-bow shall also be cut off,
And he shall speak to the nations;
His rule shall be from sea to sea,
From the river to the ends of the earth.

Section CXI.  THE LONG CONTEST FOR POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE

[Sidenote:  I Macc. 5:1-5] Now when the heathen round about heard that the altar had been built and the sanctuary dedicated as it was formerly, they were very angry and concluded to destroy the race of Jacob that was in the midst of them, and they began to slay and destroy among the people.  Judas, however, fought against the people of Esau in Idumea at Akrabattine, because they besieged Israel, and he defeated them with a great slaughter and humbled their pride and took their spoils.  He remembered the wickedness of the inhabitants of Baean, who were a source of annoyance and of danger, lying in ambush for them along the roads.  And they were shut up by him in the towers, and he besieged them and destroyed them utterly and burned the towers of the place, with all who were in them.

[Sidenote:  I Macc. 5:6-8] Then he passed over to the Ammonites and found a strong force and many people, with Timotheus as their leader.  And he fought many battles with them, and they were defeated before him, and he conquered them.  Then when he had gained possession of Jazer and its villages, he returned again into Judea.

[Sidenote:  I Macc. 5:9-15] Then the heathen who were in Gilead gathered together against the Israelites who were on the borders to destroy them.  And they fled to the stronghold of Dathema and sent letters to Judas and his brothers, saying,

The heathen who are about us have gathered together against us to destroy us, and they are preparing to come and get possession of the stronghold to which we have fled for refuge, and Timotheus is the leader of their forces.  Now therefore come and rescue us from their power, for many of our men have fallen; and all our countrymen who dwell in the land of Tob, have been put to death, and they have carried into captivity their wives and children and their possessions.  And they destroyed there about a thousand men.  While the letters were being read, there came other messengers from Galilee with their garments torn, bringing a message of similar import, saying, That there were gathered together against them men of Ptolemais, of Tyre, of Sidon, and from all heathen Galilee to destroy them completely.