1 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah.
2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mothers name was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
3 Abijah began the battle with an army of mighty men of war, four hundred thousand choice men. Jeroboam also drew up in battle formation against him with eight hundred thousand choice men, mighty men of valor.
4 And Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim in the mountains of Ephraim, and said, Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel:
5 Should you not know that Jehovah the God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, by a covenant of salt?
6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord.
7 And worthless men gathered to him, and strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted and could not withstand them.
8 And now you think to prevail before the kingdom of Jehovah in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and with you are the gold calves which Jeroboam made for you as gods.
9 Have you not cast out the priests of Jehovah, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests, like the peoples of other lands, so that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of things that are not gods?
10 But as for us, Jehovah is our God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the priests who serve Jehovah are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites in their service.
11 And they burn with smoke unto Jehovah every morning and every evening, the burnt sacrifices and spiced incense; they also set the Bread in Rows in order on the pure gold table, and the lampstand of gold with its lamps to burn every evening; for we are keeping the command of Jehovah our God, but you have forsaken Him.
12 Now behold, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against Jehovah the God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper.
13 But Jeroboam caused an ambush to go around behind them; so they were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them.
14 And when Judah looked around, behold the battle was before and behind them; and they cried out unto Jehovah, and the priests were sounding the trumpets.
15 And the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men of Judah shouted, it happened that God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
16 And the sons of Israel fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hand.
17 And Abijah and his people struck them with a great slaughter; and five hundred thousand choice men of Israel fell slain.
18 Thus the sons of Israel were subdued at that time; and the sons of Judah prevailed, because they had trusted on Jehovah the God of their fathers.
19 And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its daughter-villages, Jeshanah with its daughter-villages, and Ephron with its daughter-villages.
20 And Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah; and Jehovah struck him, and he died.
21 But Abijah became mighty, married fourteen wives, and begot twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.
22 Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways, and his sayings are written in the midrash of the prophet Iddo.