1. Abijam began to rule over Judah in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel.
2. He reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom.
3. He committed the same sins as his father before him, and he was not faithful to the lord his God, as his ancestor David had been.
4. But for David’s sake, the lord his God allowed his descendants to continue ruling, shining like a lamp, and he gave Abijam a son to rule after him in Jerusalem.