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Rehoboam made Abijah, the son of Maacah, chief and ruler among his brothers, for it was his purpose to make him king.

And in his wisdom he had his sons stationed in every walled town through all the lands of Judah and Benjamin; and he gave them a great store of food, and took wives for them.

But still they will become his servants, so that they may see how different my yoke is from the yoke of the kingdoms of the lands.

So King Rehoboam made himself strong in Jerusalem and was ruling there. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he was ruling for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the town which the Lord had made his out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there; and his mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonite woman.

And he did evil because his heart was not true to the Lord.

And Rehoboam went to rest with his fathers, and was put into the earth in the town of David; and Abijah his son became king in his place.

He was king in Jerusalem for three years; his mother's name was Maacah, the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

And Abijah went out to the fight with an army of men of war, four hundred thousand of his best men; and Jeroboam put his forces in line against him, eight hundred thousand of his best men of war.

And Abijah took up his position on Mount Zemaraim, in the hill-country of Ephraim, and said, Give ear to me, O Jeroboam and all Israel:

Is it not clear to you that the Lord, the God of Israel, gave the rule over Israel to David and to his sons for ever, by an agreement made with salt?

But Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon, the son of David, took up arms against his lord.

And now God is with us at our head, and his priests with their loud horns sounding against you. O children of Israel, do not make war on the Lord, the God of your fathers, for it will not go well for you.

But Jeroboam had put some of his men to make a surprise attack on them from the back, so some were facing Judah and others were stationed secretly at their back.

And Abijah and his people put them to death with great destruction: five hundred thousand of the best of Israel were put to the sword.

And Abijah went after Jeroboam and took some of his towns, Beth-el with its small towns and Jeshanah with its small towns and Ephron with its small towns.

And Jeroboam did not get back his power again in the life-time of Abijah; and the Lord sent death on him.

And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways and his sayings, are recorded in the account of the prophet Iddo.

So Abijah went to rest with his fathers, and they put him into the earth in the town of David, and Asa his son became king in his place; in his time the land was quiet for ten years.

And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God;

And he made Judah go after the Lord, the God of their fathers, and keep his laws and his orders.