[1] In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah.
[2] He was king in Jerusalem for three years; his mother's name was Maacah,
the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and
Jeroboam. [3] And Abijah went out to the fight with an army of men of war,
four hundred thousand of his best men; and Jeroboam put his forces in line
against him, eight hundred thousand of his best men of war. [4] And Abijah
took up his position on Mount Zemaraim, in the hill-country of Ephraim, and
said, Give ear to me, O Jeroboam and all Israel: [5] Is it not clear to you
that the Lord, the God of Israel, gave the rule over Israel to David and to
his sons for ever, by an agreement made with salt? [6] But Jeroboam, the
son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon, the son of David, took up arms
against his lord. [7] And certain foolish and good-for-nothing men were
joined with him, and made themselves strong against Rehoboam, the son of
Solomon, when he was young and untested and not able to keep them back. [8]
And now it is your purpose to put yourselves against the authority which
the Lord has put into the hands of the sons of David, and you are a very
great number, and you have with you the gold oxen which Jeroboam made to be
your gods. [9] And after driving out the priests of the Lord, the sons of
Aaron and the Levites, have you not made priests for yourselves as the
people of other lands do? so that anyone who comes to make himself priest
by offering an ox or seven sheep, may be a priest of those who are no gods.
[10] But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not been turned away
from him; we have priests who do the work of the Lord, even the sons of
Aaron and the Levites in their places; [11] By whom burned offerings and
perfumes are sent up in smoke before the Lord every morning and every
evening; and they put out the holy bread on its table and the gold support
for the lights with its lights burning every evening; for we keep the
orders given to us by the Lord our God, but you have gone away from him.
[12] And now God is with us at our head, and his priests with their loud
horns sounding against you. O children of Israel, do not make war on the
Lord, the God of your fathers, for it will not go well for you. [13] But
Jeroboam had put some of his men to make a surprise attack on them from the
back, so some were facing Judah and others were stationed secretly at their
back. [14] And Judah, turning their faces, saw that they were being
attacked in front and at the back; and they gave a cry for help to the
Lord, while the priests were sounding their horns. [15] And the men of
Judah gave a loud cry; and at their cry, God put fear into Jeroboam and all
Israel before Abijah and Judah. [16] And the children of Israel went in
flight before Judah, and God gave them up into their hands. [17] And Abijah
and his people put them to death with great destruction: five hundred
thousand of the best of Israel were put to the sword. [18] So at that time
the children of Israel were overcome, and the children of Judah got the
better of them, because they put their faith in the Lord, the God of their
fathers. [19] And Abijah went after Jeroboam and took some of his towns,
Beth-el with its small towns and Jeshanah with its small towns and Ephron
with its small towns. [20] And Jeroboam did not get back his power again in
the life-time of Abijah; and the Lord sent death on him. [21] But Abijah
became great, and had fourteen wives, and became the father of twenty-two
sons and sixteen daughters. [22] And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and
his ways and his sayings, are recorded in the account of the prophet Iddo.
