¹In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam , Abijah began to reign over Judah .

²He reigned three years in Jerusalem . His mother’s name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah . There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam .

³Abijah joined battle with an army of valiant men of war , even four hundred thousand chosen men ; and Jeroboam set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men , who were mighty men of valour .

⁴Abijah stood up on Mount Zemaraim , which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said , “Hear me , Jeroboam and all Israel :

⁵Ought you not to know that the LORD , the God of Israel , gave the kingdom over Israel to David forever , even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt ?

⁶Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat , the servant of Solomon the son of David , rose up , and rebelled against his lord.

⁷Worthless men were gathered to him , wicked fellows who strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon , when Rehoboam was young and tender hearted, and could not withstand them .

⁸“Now you intend to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David . You are a great multitude , and the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods are with you .

⁹Haven’t you driven out the priests of the LORD , the sons of Aaron, and the Levites , and made priests for yourselves according to the ways of the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of those who are no gods.

¹⁰“But as for us , the LORD is our God , and we have not forsaken him . We have priests serving the LORD , the sons of Aaron, and the Levites in their work .

¹¹They burn to the LORD every morning and every evening burnt offerings and sweet incense . They also set the show bread in order on the pure table , and care for the gold lamp stand with its lamps , to burn every evening ; for we keep the instruction of the LORD our God , but you have forsaken him .

¹²Behold , God is with us at our head , and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you . Children of Israel , don’t fight against the LORD , the God of your fathers; for you will not prosper .”

¹³But Jeroboam caused an ambush to come about behind them ; so they were before Judah , and the ambush was behind them .

¹⁴When Judah looked back , behold , the battle was before and behind them ; and they cried to the LORD , and the priests sounded with the trumpets .

¹⁵Then the men of Judah gave a shout . As the men of Judah shouted , God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah .

¹⁶The children of Israel fled before Judah , and God delivered them into their hand .

¹⁷Abijah and his people killed them with a great slaughter , so five hundred thousand chosen men of Israel fell down slain .

¹⁸Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time , and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD , the God of their fathers.

¹⁹Abijah pursued Jeroboam , and took cities from him : Bethel with its villages , Jeshanah with its villages , and Ephron with its villages .

²⁰Jeroboam didn’t recover strength again in the days of Abijah. The LORD struck him , and he died .

²¹But Abijah grew mighty and took for himself fourteen wives, and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters .

²²The rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways , and his sayings are written in the commentary of the prophet Iddo .