2 Chronicles 13

1 In the eighteenth year of king Jerobo'am became Abiyah king over Judah.

When Jeroboam had been ruling [Israel] for almost 18 years, Abijah became the king of Judah.

2 Three years he reigned in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Michayahu the daughter of Uriel of Gib'ah. And there was war between Abiyah and Jerobo'am.

He ruled in Jerusalem for three years. His mother was Micaiah (OR, Maacah), the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah [town]. There was a war between [the armies of] Abijah and Jeroboam.

3 And Abiyah joined the battle with an army of valiant men of war, even of four hundred thousand chosen men: Jerobo'am also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, being mighty men of valor.

Abijah went into the battle, taking 400,000 of his capable soldiers, and Jeroboam prepared to fight them, taking 800,000 of his capable troops.

4 And Abiyah stood up above mount Zemarayim, which is in the mountain of Ephraim, and said, Hear me, O Jerobo'am, and all Israel;

Abijah stood on the top of Zemaraim Mountain, which is in the hilly area that belonged to the tribe of Ephraim, and he shouted, “Jeroboam and all you other people of Israel, listen to me!

5 Ought ye not to know that the Lord the God of Israel hath given the kingdom over Israel to David for eternity, yea, to him and to his sons by a covenant of salts?

You should know that Yahweh, the God to whom all we Israelis belong, has appointed David and his descendants to be the kings of Israel forever. He has confirmed that by making a permanent agreement.

6 But there rose up Jerobo'am the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, and rebelled against his lord.

But Jeroboam, who was [only] an official of David’s son King Solomon, rebelled against his king.

7 And there were gathered unto him idle men, worthless persons, and put themselves in violent resistance against Rehobo'am the son of Solomon: while Rehobo'am was young and tender hearted, and could not sustain himself before them.

And when Solomon’s son Rehoboam became king and was still young and inexperienced, a group of worthless scoundrels gathered around you, Jeroboam, and rebelled against Rehoboam.

8 And now ye think to sustain yourselves before the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David; and ye are a great multitude; and with you are golden calves, which Jerobo'am hath made for you as gods.

“And now you are planning to fight against the kingdom that Yahweh established to be governed by David’s descendants. It is true that you have a huge army, and you and your soldiers have brought with you the golden [statues of] calves that Jeroboam’s workers made to be gods for all of you.

9 Have ye not cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made yourselves priests like the people of the [various] lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams can become a priest to things that are no gods?

But you expelled the priests that Yahweh [appointed], men who are descendants of Aaron [the first Supreme Priest], and you expelled the descendants of Levi, and you appointed the priests that you wanted, like the people of other countries do. You allow anyone to become a priest of idols that are not gods if he comes to dedicate himself to be a priest by sacrificing a young bull and seven rams.

10 But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, who minister unto the Lord, are the sons of Aaron; and the Levites are at their [appointed] work;

“As for us, Yahweh is our God, and we have not abandoned him. Our priests who serve Yahweh are descendants of Aaron, and the descendants of Levi assist them.

11 And they burn unto the Lord burnt-offerings every morning and every evening and incense of sweet spices; and the rows of the show-bread [do they place] upon the pure table; and there is the candlestick of gold with its lamps, to light the same every evening; for we keep the charge of the Lord our God, while ye have truly forsaken him.

Every morning and every evening they present to Yahweh offerings to be completely burned [on the altar], and they burn fragrant incense. [Each week] they place the sacred bread on the sacred table, and each morning they light the lamps that are on the gold lampstand. We are obeying what Yahweh our God requires us to do. But you have abandoned him.

12 And, behold, with us at our head, is the [true] God, with his priests with trumpets for blowing the alarm, to sound an alarm against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the Lord the God of your fathers; for ye will not prosper.

Yahweh is with us; he is our leader. The priests whom he has appointed will blow their trumpets to signal [that we are ready] to fight a battle against you. You Israeli men, do not fight against Yahweh, the God to whom your ancestors belonged, because you will not be successful and win the battle against him.”

13 But Jerobo'am caused an ambush to come around behind them: so they themselves were before Judah, and the ambush was behind them.

[While he was speaking, ] Jeroboam sent some of his troops around the army of Judah. So while the soldiers who were with Jeroboam were in front of the army of Judah, the other soldiers of Israel were behind the army of Judah.

14 And when Judah turned round, behold, they had the battle before and behind: and they cried unto the Lord, and the priests blew with the trumpets.

When the soldiers of Judah turned and saw that they were going to be attacked from the front and from the rear, they cried out to Yahweh. The priests blew their trumpets,

15 And then gave the men of Judah a shout: and it came to pass, as the men of Judah shouted, that God struck down Jerobo'am and all Israel before Abiyah and Judah.

and the men of Judah shouted a loud battle-cry. Then Yahweh [enabled Abijah and the army of Judah to] defeat Jeroboam and [the army of] Israel.

16 And the children of Israel fled from before Judah, and God gave them up into their hand.

The soldiers of Israel fled from the soldiers of Judah, and God enabled the army of Judah to defeat them.

17 And Abiyah and his people smote them with a great defeat, and there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.

Abijah and his troops struck the capable soldiers of Israel and killed 500,000 of them.

18 Thus were the children of Israel humbled at that time: and the children of Judah became powerful, because they relied upon the Lord the God of their fathers.

So the soldiers of Israel were defeated, and the soldiers of Judah won the battle because they trusted in Yahweh, the God to whom their ancestors belonged.

19 And Abiyah made pursuit after Jerobo'am, and captured cities from him, Bethel with its villages, and Jeshanah with its villages, and 'Ephrayin with its villages.

Abijah’s army pursued the army of Jeroboam, and they captured from the people of Israel the cities of Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, and the surrounding villages.

20 And Jerobo'am did not recover strength again in the days of Abiyahu: and the Lord struck him, and he died.

During the remaining time that Abijah ruled, Jeroboam did not become powerful again. Then Yahweh caused him to become very ill, and he died.

21 But Abiyahu became strong, and he took himself fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters.

But Abijah became more powerful. He married 14 wives and had 22 sons and 16 daughters.

22 And the rest of the acts of Abiyah, and his ways, and his speeches, are written in the writing of the prophet 'Iddo.

An account of the other things that Abijah did while he was the king, including what he said and what he did, is in the scroll written by the prophet Iddo.