Abijah Takes the Throne
13 1 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king of Judah. 2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Micaiah, the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. Then war broke out between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3 Abijah went into battle with an army of valiant warriors, four hundred thousand chosen men, while Jeroboam drew up his battle line against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, mighty warriors.
4 Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, in the hill country of Ephraim, and called out, "Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel! 5 Don't you know that our Father, the God of Israel, gave the throne of Israel to David forever, to him and his sons by a covenant of salt? a a v5 A covenant of salt was a solemn, permanent agreement; salt preserved food and symbolized a lasting, unbreakable commitment. 6 Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master. 7 Worthless scoundrels gathered around him and defied Rehoboam son of Solomon when Rehoboam was young and timid and could not stand up to them.
8 And now you think you can stand against the kingdom of our Father, held in the hands of David's sons, because you are a great horde and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods. 9 Haven't you driven out the priests of our Father, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and appointed your own priests just like the other nations? Anyone who comes with a young bull and seven rams can make himself a priest of things that are not gods.
10 But as for us, our Father is ours, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who minister to him are sons of Aaron, and the Levites are at their work, 11 Every morning and every evening they offer to our Father burnt offerings and fragrant incense; they set out the rows of bread on the table of pure gold, and tend the golden lampstand so its lamps burn every evening. We do what our Father requires, but you have forsaken him. 12 Look, our Father is with us at our head, and his priests stand ready with the signal trumpets to sound the battle alarm against you. People of Israel, do not fight against our Father, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed."
13 Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to set an ambush behind them, so that his main force was in front of Judah and the ambush lay behind them. 14 When Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked from front and rear, they cried out to our Father, and the priests blew the trumpets. 15 Then the men of Judah raised the battle shout, and as they shouted, our Father struck down Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16 The people of Israel fled before Judah, and our Father handed them over to Judah. 17 Abijah and his army struck them with a heavy blow, and five hundred thousand chosen men of Israel were killed. 18 So the people of Israel were humbled at that time, and the people of Judah prevailed because they relied on our Father, the God of their ancestors. 19 Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured cities from him: Bethel with its surrounding villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephron with its villages.
20 Jeroboam never regained his strength during Abijah's lifetime, and our Father struck him down, and he died. 21 But Abijah grew strong. He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22 The rest of the deeds of Abijah, his ways and his sayings, are recorded in the commentary of the prophet Iddo.