< Chronicles II 13 >
1 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam Abia began to reign over Juda.
Abijah became king of Judah in the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam.
2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name [was] Maacha, daughter of Uriel of Gabaon. And there was war between Abia and Jeroboam.
He reigned in Jerusalem for three years. His mother's name was Micaiah, daughter of Uriel—she was from Gibeah. Abijah and Jeroboam were at war.
3 And Abia set the battle in array with an army, with mighty men of war, [even] four hundred thousand mighty men: and Jeroboam set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand, [they were] mighty warriors of the host.
Abijah went out to fight with an army of 400,000 brave warriors, while Jeroboam opposed him with his army of 800,000 chosen warriors of great strength.
4 And Abia rose up from the mount Somoron, which is in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear you, Jeroboam, and all Israel:
Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all of Israel!
5 [Is it] not for you to know that the Lord God of Israel has given a king over Israel for ever to David, and to his sons, by a covenant of salt?
Don't you understand that the Lord, the God of Israel, gave the kingdom of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a binding agreement?
6 But Jeroboam the [son] of Nabat, the servant of Solomon [the son] of David, is risen up, and has revolted from his master:
Yet Jeroboam, son of Nebat, just a servant of Solomon, son of David, had the audacity to rebel against his master.
7 and there are gathered to him pestilent men, transgressors, and he has risen up against Roboam the [son] of Solomon, while Roboam was young and fearful in heart, and he withstood him not.
Then some good-for-nothing evil men gathered round him and defied Rehoboam, son of Solomon, when he was young and inexperienced, and couldn't confront them.
8 And now you profess to resist the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David; and you [are] a great multitude, and with you are golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.
Now do you really think you can oppose the kingdom of the Lord, held by David's descendants? You may be a large horde, and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.
9 Did you not cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make to yourselves priests of the people of any [other] land? whoever came to consecrate himself with a calf of the heard and seven rams, he forthwith became a priest to that which is no god.
But didn't you drive out the priests of the Lord, Aaron's descendants, and the Levites, and make priests for yourselves just like people in other nations do? Now anyone who wants to can come and dedicate himself, sacrificing a young bull and seven rams, and he can become a priest of things that really are not gods.
10 But we have not forsaken the Lord our God, and his priests, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, minister to the Lord; and in their daily courses
But for us, the Lord is our God! We have not abandoned him. We have priests serving the Lord who are descendants of Aaron, and we have Levites who help them in their ministry.
11 they sacrifice to the Lord whole burnt offering, morning and evening, and compound incense, and [set] the show bread on the pure table; and [there is] the golden candlestick, and the lamps for burning, to light in the evening: for we keep the charge of the Lord God of our fathers; but you have forsaken him.
Morning and evening they present burnt offerings and burn fragrant incense to the Lord. They place the rows of showbread on the purified table, and light the lamps of the gold lampstand every evening. We are doing what the Lord our God told us to do, while you have abandoned him.
12 And, behold, the Lord and his priests are with us at our head, and the signal trumpets to sound an alarm over us. Children of Israel, fight not against the Lord God of our fathers; for you shall not prosper.
God is leading us! His priests blow their trumpets to go into battle against you. People of Israel, don't fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you won't win!”
13 Now Jeroboam had caused an ambush to come round upon him from behind: and he [himself] was before Juda, and the ambush behind.
But Jeroboam had sent troops around to attack from the rear, so that while he and the main force was in front of Judah, the ambush was behind them.
14 And Juda looked back, and, behold, the battle [was] against them before and behind: and they cried to the Lord, and the priests sounded with the trumpets.
Judah turned around and realized that they were having to fight front and rear. They cried out to the Lord for help. Then the priests blew their trumpets,
15 And the men of Juda shouted: and it came to pass, when the men of Juda shouted, that the Lord struck Jeroboam and Israel before Abia and Juda.
and the men of Judah gave a loud shout. When they shouted, God struck Jeroboam and all Israel in front of Abijah and Judah.
16 And the children of Israel fled from before Juda; and the Lord delivered them into their hands.
The Israelites ran away from Judah, and God handed them over to Judah, defeated.
17 And Abia and his people struck them with a great slaughter: and there fell slain of Israel five hundred thousand mighty men.
Abijah and his men hit them hard, and 500,000 of Israel's best warriors were killed.
18 So the children of Israel were brought low in that day, and the children of Juda prevailed, because they trusted on the Lord God of their fathers.
So the Israelites were subdued at that time, and the people of Judah were victorious because they relied on the Lord, the God of their forefathers.
19 And Abia pursued after Jeroboam, and he took from him the cities, Baethel and her towns, and Jesyna and her towns, and Ephron and her towns.
Abijah chased Jeroboam and captured some towns from him: Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, along with their villages.
20 And Jeroboam did not recover strength again all the days of Abia: and the Lord struck him, and he died.
Jereboam never regained his power during Abijah's reign. Eventually the Lord struck him down and he died.
21 But Abia strengthened himself, and took to himself fourteen wives, and he begot twenty-two sons, and sixteen daughters.
But Abijah grew stronger and stronger. He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.
22 And the rest of the acts of Abia, and his deeds, and his sayings, are written in the book of the prophet Addo.
The rest of what Abijah did—what he said and what he accomplished—is recorded in the history written by Iddo the Prophet.