1. In the eighteenth year of Israel’s King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah
2. and reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Micaiah daughter of Uriel; she was from Gibeah.There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
3. Abijah set his army of warriors in order with 400,000 choice men. Jeroboam arranged his mighty army of 800,000 choice men in battle formation against him.
4. Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel, hear me.
5. Don’t you know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?
6. But Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord.
7. Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when Rehoboam was young, inexperienced, and unable to assert himself against them.
8. “And now you are saying you can assert yourselves against the Lord’s kingdom, which is in the hand of one of David’s sons. You are a vast number and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.
9. Didn’t you banish the priests of Yahweh, the descendants of Aaron and the Levites, and make your own priests like the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to ordain himself with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest of what are not gods.