1 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam [a] became king of Judah, 1
2
and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. [b]
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And Abijam walked in all the sins that his father before him had committed, and his heart was not as fully devoted to the LORD his God as the heart of David his forefather had been.
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Nevertheless, for the sake of David, the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and to make Jerusalem strong.
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For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not turned aside from anything the LORD commanded all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
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And there was war between the houses of Rehoboam [c] and Jeroboam all the days of Abijam’s life. [d]
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As for the rest of the acts of Abijam, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.
In this chapter we have a short history of the reign of Abijam, 1Ki 15:1-8 and of Asa, 1Ki 14:9-24, both kings of Judah; and of the reigns of Nadab the son of Jeroboam, and of Baasha, who destroyed his family, both kings of Israel, 1Ki 15:25-34.
[a].
Abijam is a variant of Abijah; some Hebrew manuscripts and LXX Abijah; also in verses 3, 6, 7, and 8; see 2 Chronicles 12:16.
[b].
Abishalom is a variant of Absalom; also in verse 10; see 2 Chronicles 11:20.
[c].
Literally war between Rehoboam (most Hebrew manuscripts); some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac war between Abijam (that is, Abijah); most LXX texts do not contain this verse.