11In the eighteenthyear of KingJeroboam, AbijahbecamekingoverJudah.
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He reignedthreeyears in Jerusalem ; and his mother'sname was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. 2Now there was warbetweenAbijah and Jeroboam.
3Abijahbegan the battle with an army of valiantwarriors, 400,000chosenmen, while Jeroboamdrew up in battleformationagainst him with 800,000chosenmen who were valiantwarriors.
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Then Abijahstood on Mount3Zemaraim, which is in the hillcountry of Ephraim, and said, "Listen to me, Jeroboam and allIsrael :
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"Do you not know that 4the LORDGod of Israelgave the ruleoverIsraelforever to Davidaand his sons by 5a covenant of salt ?
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"Yet 6Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelledagainst his bmaster,
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and worthlessmengatheredabout him, scoundrels , who provedtoostrong for Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, when c7he was young and timid and could not hold his ownagainst them.
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"So now you intend to resist the kingdom of the LORDdthrough the sons of David, ebeing a greatmultitude and having with you 8the goldencalveswhichJeroboammade for gods for you.
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"9Have you not driven out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests like the peoples of other lands ? Whoevercomes10to consecratehimself with a youngbull and sevenrams, even he may become a priest of what are 11nogods.
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"But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the sons of Aaron are ministering to the LORD as priests, and the Levitesfattend to their work.
11"Everymorning and evening12they gburn to the LORDburntofferings and fragrantincense, and 13the showbread is set on the cleantable, and the goldenlampstand with its lamps is ready to lighteveryevening ; for we keep the charge of the LORD our God, but you have forsaken Him.
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"Now behold, God is with us at our head and 14His priests with the signaltrumpets to sound the alarmagainst you. O sons of Israel, do not fightagainst the LORDGod of your fathers, for you will not succeed."
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But Jeroboam15had set an ambush to come from the rear, so that Israel was in front of Judah and the ambush was behind them.
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When Judahturnedaround, behold, hthey were attacked both front and rear ; so 16they cried to the LORD, and the priestsblew the trumpets.
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Then the men of Judahraised a war cry, and when the men of Judahraised the war cry, then it was that Godi17routedJeroboam and allIsraelbeforeAbijah and Judah.
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When the sons of IsraelfledbeforeJudah, 18Godgave them into their hand.
17Abijah and his peopledefeated them with a greatslaughter, so that 500,000chosenmen of Israelfellslain.
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Thus the sons of Israel were subdued at that time, and the sons of Judahjconquered19because they trusted in the LORD, the God of their fathers.
19AbijahpursuedJeroboam and captured from him several cities, Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages and kEphron with its villages.
20Jeroboam did not againrecoverstrength in the days of Abijah ; and the 20LORDstruck him and 21he died.
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But Abijahbecamepowerful ; and tookfourteenwives to himself, and became the father of twenty-twosons and sixteendaughters.
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Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways and his words are written in 22the ltreatise of 23the prophetIddo.
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