2 Chronicles 13:1-10 ▼

1 In the eighteenth year  of Israel’s King Jeroboam, Abijah  became king over Judah

2 and reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Micaiah    daughter of Uriel; she was from Gibeah. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

3 Abijah set his army of warriors in order with 400,000 choice men. Jeroboam arranged his mighty army of 800,000 choice men in battle formation against him.

4 Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim,  which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel, hear me.

5 Don’t you know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel to David and his descendants forever   by a covenant of salt ? 

6 But Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord. 

7 Then worthless and ^•wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when Rehoboam was young, inexperienced, and unable to assert himself against them.

8 “And now you are saying you can assert yourselves against the LORD’s kingdom, which is in the hand of one of David’s sons. You are a vast number and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.   

9 Didn’t you banish the priests of ^•Yahweh, the descendants of Aaron and the Levites, and make your own priests like the peoples of other lands do?  Whoever comes to ordain himself  with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest  of what are not gods. 

10 “But as for us, Yahweh is our God. We have not abandoned Him; the priests ministering to the LORD are descendants of Aaron, and the Levites serve at their tasks.