⁴ Then Abijah stood up on Mount ^(A)Zemaraim that is in ^(B)the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! ⁵ Ought you not to know that the Lord God of Israel ^(C)gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by ^(D)a covenant of salt? ⁶ Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up ^(E)and rebelled against his lord, ⁷ and certain ^(F)worthless scoundrels^[a] gathered about him and defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was ^(G)young and irresolute^[b] and could not withstand them.

⁸ “And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you ^(H)the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods. ^9 (I)Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes ^(J)for ordination^[c] with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are ^(K)not gods. ¹⁰ But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests ministering to the Lord who are sons of Aaron, and Levites for their service. ¹¹ They offer to the Lord ^(L)every morning and every evening burnt offerings and incense of sweet spices, set out ^(M)the showbread on the table of pure gold, ^(N)and care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may ^(O)burn every evening. For we ^(P)keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken him. ¹² Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests ^(Q)with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, ^(R)do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.”