In the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah.
Three years reigned he in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
And Abijah joined battle with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: and Jeroboam set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, who were mighty men of valor.
And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill-country of Ephraim, and said, Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel:
Ought ye not to know that Jehovah, the God of Israel, gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?
Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up, and rebelled against his lord.
And there were gathered unto him worthless men, base fellows, that strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tender-hearted, and could not withstand them.
And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of Jehovah in the hand of the sons of David; and ye are a great multitude, and there are with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods.
Have ye not driven out the priests of Jehovah, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made you priests after the manner of the peoples of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods.
But as for us, Jehovah is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and we have priests ministering unto Jehovah, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites in their work:
and they burn unto Jehovah every morning and every evening burnt-offerings and sweet incense: the showbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of Jehovah our God; but ye have forsaken him.
And, behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against Jehovah, the God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.
But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them: so they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them.
And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind them; and they cried unto Jehovah, and the priests sounded with the trumpets.
Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
And the children of Israel fled before Judah; and God delivered them into their hand.
And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.
Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon Jehovah, the God of their fathers.
And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Beth-el with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and {Another reading is, Ephrain.}Ephron with the towns thereof.
Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and Jehovah smote him, and he died.
But Abijah waxed mighty, and took unto himself fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters.
And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the commentary of the prophet Iddo.
Querverweise zu 2. Chronika 13,7 2Chr 13,7
And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light fellows, who followed him.
Certain {Hebrew: sons of worthlessness.}base fellows are gone out from the midst of thee, and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;
And when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So all Israel departed unto their tents.
And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, that were warriors, to fight against Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.
But the word of Jehovah came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,
Thus saith Jehovah, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house; for this thing is of me. So they hearkened unto the words of Jehovah, and returned from going against Jeroboam.
Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain fellows to Jephthah, and they went out with him.
and set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst {Or, renounce}curse God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him to death.
So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which Jehovah had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess.
And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was {Hebrew: bitter of soul.}discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
And the two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him: and the base fellows bare witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did {Or, renounce}curse God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him to death with stones.
Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a {Or, servant}child, and thy princes eat in the morning!
They are children of fools, yea, children of {Hebrew: men of no name.}base men;They {Or, are outcasts from the land}were scouraged out of the land.
And I will give children to be their princes, and {Or, with childishness shall they rule over them}babes shall rule over them.
I have not sat with men of falsehood;Neither will I go in with dissemblers.
Brethren, be not children in mind: yet in malice be ye babes, but in mind be {Greek: of full age. Compare chapter 2:6.}men.
He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread;But he that followeth after {Or, vain things}vain persons is void of understanding.
For when by reason of the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need again {Or, that one teach you which are the rudiments}that some one teach you the rudiments of the {Greek: beginning.}first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food.
He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread;But he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.
But the Jews, being moved with jealousy, took unto them certain vile fellows of the rabble, and gathering a crowd, set the city on an uproar; and assaulting the house of Jason, they sought to bring them forth to the people.
For there are many unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision,