1 In athe eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over bJudah.
2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was1 Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
3 Abijah set the battle in order with an army of valiant warriors, four hundred thousand choice men. Jeroboam also drew up in battle formation against him with eight hundred thousand choice men, mighty men of valor.
4 Then Abijah stood on Mount aZemaraim, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, and said, “Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel:
5 Should you not know that the Lord God of Israel agave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, bby a covenant of salt?
6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and arebelled against his lord.
7 Then aworthless rogues gathered to him, and strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was byoung and inexperienced and could not withstand them.
8 And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and with you are the gold calves which Jeroboam amade for you as gods.
9aHave you not cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests, like the peoples of other lands, bso that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of cthingsthatare not gods?
10 But as for us, the Lordis our aGod, and we have not forsaken Him; and the priests who minister to the Lordare the sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties.
11aAnd they burn to the Lord every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense; they also set the bshowbread inorderon the pure gold table, and the lampstand of gold with its lamps cto burn every evening; for we keep the command of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken Him.
12 Now look, God Himself is with us as ourahead, band His priests with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper!”
13 But Jeroboam caused an ambush to go around behind them; so they were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them.
14 And when Judah looked around, to their surprise the battle line was at both front and rear; and they acried out to the Lord, and the priests sounded the trumpets.
15 Then the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men of Judah shouted, it happened that God astruck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
16 And the children of Israel fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hand.
17 Then Abijah and his people struck them with a great slaughter; so five hundred thousand choice men of Israel fell slain.
18 Thus the children of Israel were subdued at that time; and the children of Judah prevailed, abecause they relied on the Lord God of their fathers.
19 And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and aEphrain with its villages.
20 So Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah; and the Lordastruck him, and bhe died.
21 But Abijah grew mighty, married fourteen wives, and begot twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.
22 Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways, and his sayings are written in athe annals of the prophet Iddo.
THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF CHRONICLES were also considered as one by the ancient Jews, who called them "words of days," that is, diaries or journals, being probably compiled from those registers that were kept by the king's historiographers of passing occurrences. In the Septuagint the title given them is Paraleipomenon, "of things omitted," that is, the books are supplementary because many things unnoticed in the former books are here recorded; and not only the omissions are supplied, but some narratives extended while others are added. The authorship is commonly ascribed to Ezra, whose leading object seems to have been to show the division of families, possessions, etc., before the captivity, with a view to the exact restoration of the same order after the return from Babylon. Although many things are restated and others are exact repetitions of what is contained in Kings, there is so much new and important information that, as JEROME has well said, the Chronicles furnish the means of comprehending parts of the New Testament, which must have been unintelligible without them. They are frequently referred to by Christ and the Apostles as forming part of "the Word of God" (see the genealogies in Mat. 1:1-16; Luk. 3:23-38; compare II Chronicles 19:7 with I Peter 1:17; II Chronicles 24:19-21 with Matthew 23:32-35).
