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2 Chronicles 13
New American Standard Bible

Abijah Succeeds Rehoboam

13 (A)In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah. 2 He reigned in Jerusalem for three years; and his mother’s name was [a]Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

(B)Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3 Abijah began the battle with an army of warriors, four hundred thousand chosen men, while Jeroboam drew up in battle formation against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men who were valiant warriors.

Civil War

4 Then Abijah stood on Mount (C)Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel: 5 Do you not know that (D)the Lord God of Israel gave the rule over Israel forever to David [b]and his sons by (E)a covenant of salt? 6 Yet (F)Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his [c]master, 7 and worthless men gathered to him, wicked men, who proved too strong for Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, when [d](G)he was young and timid and could not hold his own against them.

8 “So now you intend to assert yourselves against the kingdom of the Lord [e]through the sons of David, [f]being a great multitude and having with you (H)the golden calves which Jeroboam made for you as gods. 9 (I)Have 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? Whoever comes (J)to consecrate himself with a bull and seven rams, even he may become a priest of things that are (K)not gods. 10 But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not abandoned Him; and the sons of Aaron are ministering to the Lord as priests, and the Levites [g]attend to their work. 11 Every morning and evening (L)they [h]burn to the Lord burnt offerings and fragrant incense, and (M)the showbread is set on the clean table, and the golden lampstand with its lamps is ready to light every evening; for we perform our duty to the Lord our God, but you have abandoned Him. 12 Now behold, God is with us at our head, and (N)His priests with the signal trumpets to sound the war cry against you. Sons of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.”

13 But Jeroboam (O)had set an ambush to come from behind, so that Israel was in front of Judah and the ambush was behind them. 14 When Judah turned around, behold, [i]they were attacked both from front and rear; so (P)they cried out to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets. 15 Then the men of Judah raised a war cry, and when the men of Judah raised the war cry, God [j](Q)defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16 When the sons of Israel fled from Judah, (R)God handed them over to them. 17 Abijah and his people defeated them with a great slaughter, so that five hundred thousand chosen men of Israel fell slain. 18 The sons of Israel were subdued at that time, and the sons of Judah [k]conquered (S)because they trusted in the Lord, the God of their fathers. 19 Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured from him several cities, Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and [l]Ephron with its villages.

Death of Jeroboam

20 Jeroboam did not again recover strength in the days of Abijah; and the (T)Lord struck him and (U)he died.

21 But Abijah became powerful, and he took fourteen wives for himself, and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22 Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways and his words are written in (V)the [m]treatise of (W)Iddo the prophet.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 13:2 In 1 Kin 15:2, Maacah the daughter of Abishalom
  2. 2 Chronicles 13:5 Lit to him and to his sons
  3. 2 Chronicles 13:6 Or lord
  4. 2 Chronicles 13:7 Lit Rehoboam
  5. 2 Chronicles 13:8 Lit by the hand of
  6. 2 Chronicles 13:8 Lit and you are a
  7. 2 Chronicles 13:10 Lit in the work
  8. 2 Chronicles 13:11 Lit offer up in smoke
  9. 2 Chronicles 13:14 Lit the battle was in front and behind them
  10. 2 Chronicles 13:15 Lit struck
  11. 2 Chronicles 13:18 Lit were strong
  12. 2 Chronicles 13:19 Another reading is Ephrain
  13. 2 Chronicles 13:22 Heb midrash
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2 Chronicles 13
International Standard Version

Abijah Succeeds Rehoboam(A)

13 During the eighteenth year of the reign of[a] King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah. 2 He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother was Uriel’s daughter Micaiah from Gibeah.

A war started between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3 Abijah started the battle with an army of 400,000 specially chosen valiant soldiers, but Jeroboam opposed him with 800,000 specially chosen valiant soldiers. 4 Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim and announced:

“Listen to me, Jeroboam and Israel! 5 Don’t you know that the Lord God of Israel assigned the kingship over Israel to David and his descendants forever by a salt covenant?[b] 6 Even so, Nebat’s son Jeroboam, who used to serve David’s son Solomon, rose in rebellion against his own master! 7 Useless troublemakers[c] soon gathered around him, who turned out to be too strong for Rehoboam, because he was young, timid, and unable to withstand them.

8 “So now you think you’ll be able to withstand the Lord’s kingdom as controlled by David’s descendants, just because you have a large crown and have brought with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods. 9 Haven’t you already driven away the Lord’s priests, the descendants of Aaron and the descendants of Levi? Haven’t you established your own priests like the people of other[d] lands?

10 “Now as far as we’re concerned, the Lord is our God, and we haven’t abandoned him. The descendants of Aaron are ministering to the Lord as priests, and the descendants of Levi continue their work. 11 Every morning and evening, they’re offering burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the Lord, the showbread is set out on the pure table, and they take care of the golden lamp stand so its lamps can continue to burn every evening. We continue to be faithful over what the Lord our God entrusted to us, but you have abandoned him. 12 Now listen! God is with us to lead us, and his priests are about to sound their battle trumpets against you. Descendants of Israel, don’t fight against the Lord God of your ancestors, because you won’t succeed!”

13 But Jeroboam had sent an ambush to attack from the rear, so Israel was in front of Judah, with the ambush set in place behind them. 14 When the army of[e] Judah turned around to look, they were being attacked from both front and rear, so they cried out to the Lord while the priests sounded their trumpets. 15 Then the army of Judah sounded a war cry, and God routed Jeroboam and the entire army of Israel in front of Abijah and Judah. 16 When the descendants of Israel ran away from the army of Judah, God handed them over to the army of Judah. 17 Abijah and his army defeated them in a tremendous slaughter that resulted in 500,000 special forces from Israel being slain. 18 And so the descendants of Israel were defeated at that time. The descendants of Judah were victorious because they trusted in the Lord God of their ancestors. 19 After this Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured Bethel and its villages, Jeshanah and its villages, and Ephron and its villages.

Jeroboam’s Death and Asa’s Reign in Judah

20 Jeroboam never recovered his strength for the rest of Abijah’s life. The Lord struck Jeroboam,[f] and he died, 21 but Abijah continued to grow more powerful. He took fourteen wives for himself and fathered 22 sons and sixteen daughters. 22 The rest of Abijah’s accomplishments, his lifestyle and his memoirs are recorded in the Midrash[g] of the Prophet Iddo.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 13:1 The Heb. lacks the reign of
  2. 2 Chronicles 13:5 Cf. Lev 2:13; Num 18:19
  3. 2 Chronicles 13:7 Lit. sons of Belial
  4. 2 Chronicles 13:9 The Heb. lacks other
  5. 2 Chronicles 13:14 The Heb. lacks the army of
  6. 2 Chronicles 13:20 Lit. him
  7. 2 Chronicles 13:22 Or Commentary
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