1. In the eighteenth year of the reign of King Jeroboam of Israel, Abijah became king of Judah,
2. and he ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother was Micaiah daughter of Uriel, from the city of Gibeah.War broke out between Abijah and Jeroboam.
3. Abijah raised an army of 400,000 soldiers, and Jeroboam opposed him with an army of 800,000.
4. The armies met in the hill country of Ephraim. King Abijah went up Mount Zemaraim and called out to Jeroboam and the Israelites: “Listen to me!” he said.
5. “Don't you know that the Lord, the God of Israel, made an unbreakable covenant with David, giving him and his descendants kingship over Israel for ever?
6. Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against Solomon, his king.
7. Later he gathered together a group of worthless scoundrels, and they forced their will on Rehoboam son of Solomon, who was too young and inexperienced to resist them.
8. Now you propose to fight against the royal authority that the Lord gave to David's descendants. You have a huge army and have with you the gold bull calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods.
9. You drove out the Lord's priests, the descendants of Aaron, and you drove out the Levites. In their place you appointed priests in the same way that other nations do. Anybody who comes along with a bull or seven sheep can get himself consecrated as a priest of those so-called gods of yours.