2 Chronicles 13
13 1In the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over
Judah.
2Three years reigned he in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was
Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and
Jeroboam.
3And Abijah joined battle with an army of valiant men of war,
even four hundred thousand chosen men: and Jeroboam set the battle in array
against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, who were mighty men of
valor.
4And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in the
hill-country of Ephraim, and said, Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel:
5Ought ye not to know that Jehovah, the God of Israel, gave the kingdom
over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of
salt?
6Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of
David, rose up, and rebelled against his lord.
7And there were gathered
unto him worthless men, base fellows, that strengthened themselves against
Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tender-hearted, and
could not withstand them.
8And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of
Jehovah in the hand of the sons of David; and ye are a great multitude, and
there are with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods.
9Have ye not driven out the priests of Jehovah, the sons of Aaron, and
the Levites, and made you priests after the manner of the peoples of
other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a
young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that
are no gods.
10But as for us, Jehovah is our God, and we have not
forsaken him; and we have priests ministering unto Jehovah, the sons
of Aaron, and the Levites in their work:
11and they burn unto Jehovah
every morning and every evening burnt-offerings and sweet incense: the
showbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the
candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we
keep the charge of Jehovah our God; but ye have forsaken him.
12And,
behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of
alarm to sound an alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not
against Jehovah, the God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.
13But
Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them: so they were before
Judah, and the ambushment was behind them.
14And when Judah looked back,
behold, the battle was before and behind them; and they cried unto Jehovah,
and the priests sounded with the trumpets.
15Then the men of Judah gave a
shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote
Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
16And the children of
Israel fled before Judah; and God delivered them into their hand.
17And
Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down
slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.
18Thus the children of
Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed,
because they relied upon Jehovah, the God of their fathers.
19And Abijah
pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Beth-el with the towns
thereof, and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and Ephron with the towns
thereof.
20Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of
Abijah: and Jehovah smote him, and he died.
21But Abijah waxed mighty,
and took unto himself fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and
sixteen daughters.
22And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways,
and his sayings, are written in the commentary of the prophet Iddo.
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