1 In King Jeroboam's eighteenth year Abijah became king over Judah.
2 He ruled three years in Jerusalem; his mother was Micaiah daughter of Uriel from Gibeah. War broke out between Abijah and Jeroboam.
3 Abijah opened the battle with an army of brave warriors, four hundred thousand picked men, while Jeroboam lined up against him with eight hundred thousand picked men, strong warriors.
4 Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim and called out, "Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel!
5 Should you not know that the LORD God of Israel gave David the kingdom over Israel forever, to him and his sons, by a covenant of salt?
6 Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and revolted against his master;
7 and worthless men, sons of Belial, rallied to him and overpowered Rehoboam son of Solomon, while Rehoboam was young and timid and not strong enough to resist them.
8 And now you intend to resist the LORD's kingdom in the hands of David's sons, because you are a huge crowd and you have the gold calves Jeroboam made for you as gods.
9 Did you not throw out the LORD's priests, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do? Anyone who comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of what are no gods.
10 But for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not abandoned him. Our priests who serve the LORD are sons of Aaron, and the Levites are at their task.
11 Each morning and each evening they burn burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD; they arrange the bread in rows on the clean table and light the gold lampstand and its lamps evening by evening. We keep the charge of the LORD our God, but you have abandoned him.
12 See, God is with us at our head, with his priests and their battle trumpets to raise the battle cry against you. Children of Israel, do not fight the LORD God of your fathers, for you will not prosper."
13 Meanwhile Jeroboam had sent men around to set an ambush behind them, so that his main force faced Judah while the ambush was at their rear.
14 Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked front and rear. They cried to the LORD, and the priests sounded the trumpets.
15 The men of Judah let out a war cry, and at the war cry of the men of Judah God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
16 The children of Israel ran from Judah, and God handed them over to them.
17 Abijah and his army inflicted a crushing defeat on them, and five hundred thousand picked men of Israel lay slain.
18 So the children of Israel were brought low at that time, and the children of Judah won, because they leaned on the LORD God of their fathers.
19 Abijah chased Jeroboam and captured cities from him: Bethel and its villages, Jeshanah and its villages, and Ephrain and its villages.
20 Jeroboam never again recovered his strength in Abijah's days; the LORD struck him down and he died.
21 But Abijah grew powerful. He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.
22 The rest of Abijah's deeds, his conduct and his words, are recorded in the commentary of Iddo the prophet.