2 Chronicles 13
1 Now in the
eighteenth year of
king Jeroboam began
Abijah to
reign over
Judah. 2 He
reigned three years in
Jerusalem. His
mother's name also was
Michaiah the
daughter of
Uriel of
Gibeah. And there was
war between
Abijah and
Jeroboam. 3 And
Abijah set the
battle in
array with an
army of valiant
men of
war, even
four hundred thousand chosen men: Jeroboam also set the
battle in
array against him with
eight hundred thousand chosen men, being mighty
men of
valour. 4 And
Abijah stood
up upon
mount Zemaraim, which is in
mount Ephraim, and
said,
Hear me, thou
Jeroboam, and all
Israel; 5 Ought ye not to
know that the
LORD God of
Israel gave the
kingdom over
Israel to
David for
ever, even to him and to his
sons by a
covenant of
salt? 6 Yet
Jeroboam the
son of
Nebat, the
servant of
Solomon the
son of
David, is risen
up, and hath
rebelled against his
lord. 7 And there are
gathered unto him
vain men, the
children of
Belial, and have
strengthened themselves against
Rehoboam the
son of
Solomon, when
Rehoboam was
young and
tenderhearted, and could not
withstand them. 8 And now ye
think to
withstand the
kingdom of the
LORD in the
hand of the
sons of
David; and ye be a
great multitude, and there are with you
golden calves, which
Jeroboam made you for
gods. 9 Have ye not cast
out the
priests of the
LORD, the
sons of
Aaron, and the
Levites, and have
made you
priests after the manner of the
nations of other
lands? so that whosoever
cometh to
consecrate himself with a
young bullock and
seven rams, the same may be a
priest of them that are
no gods. 10 But as for us, the
LORD is our
God, and we have not
forsaken him; and the
priests, which
minister unto the
LORD, are the
sons of
Aaron, and the
Levites wait upon their
business: 11 And they
burn unto the
LORD every
morning and every
evening burnt
sacrifices and
sweet incense: the
shewbread also set they in order upon the
pure table; and the
candlestick of
gold with the
lamps thereof, to
burn every
evening: for we
keep the
charge of the
LORD our
God; but ye have
forsaken him.
12 And, behold,
God himself is with us for our
captain, and his
priests with
sounding trumpets to cry
alarm against you. O
children of
Israel, fight ye not against the
LORD God of your
fathers; for ye shall not
prosper.
13 But
Jeroboam caused an
ambushment to
come about behind them: so they were
before Judah, and the
ambushment was
behind them.
14 And when
Judah looked
back, behold, the
battle was
before and
behind: and they
cried unto the
LORD, and the
priests sounded with the
trumpets. 15 Then the
men of
Judah gave a
shout: and as the
men of
Judah shouted, it came to pass, that
God smote Jeroboam and all
Israel before Abijah and
Judah. 16 And the
children of
Israel fled before Judah: and
God delivered them into their
hand. 17 And
Abijah and his
people slew them with a
great slaughter: so there fell
down slain of
Israel five hundred thousand chosen men. 18 Thus the
children of
Israel were
brought under at that
time, and the
children of
Judah prevailed, because they
relied upon the
LORD God of their
fathers. 19 And
Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and
took cities from him,
Bethel with the
towns thereof, and
Jeshanah with the
towns thereof, and
Ephrain with the
towns thereof.
20 Neither did
Jeroboam recover strength again in the
days of
Abijah: and the
LORD struck him, and he
died.
21 But
Abijah waxed
mighty, and
married fourteen wives, and
begat twenty and
two sons, and
sixteen daughters. 22 And the
rest of the
acts of
Abijah, and his
ways, and his
sayings, are
written in the
story of the
prophet Iddo.