³And when Abia had begun battle, and had with him four hundred thousand most valiant and chosen men, Jeroboam put his army in array against him, eight hundred thousand men, who were also chosen and most valiant for war.

⁴And Abia stood upon mount Semeron, which was in Ephraim, and said: Hear me, O Jeroboam, and all Israel:

⁵Do you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave to David the kingdom over Israel for ever, to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?

⁶And Jeroboam the son of Nabat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up: and rebelled against his lord.

⁷And there were gathered to him vain men, and children of Belial: and they prevailed against Roboam the son of Solomon: for Roboam was unexperienced, and of a fearful heart, and could not resist them.

⁸And now you say that you are able to withstand the kingdom of the Lord, which he possesseth by the sons of David, and you have a great multitude of people, and golden calves, which Jeroboam hath made you for gods.

⁹And you have cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites: and you have made you priests, like all the nations of the earth: whosoever cometh and consecrateth his hand with a bullock of the herd, and with seven rams, is made a priest of those who are no gods.

¹⁰But the Lord is our God, whom we forsake not, and the priests who minister to the Lord are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites are in their order.

¹¹And they offer holocausts to the Lord, every day, morning and evening, and incense made according to the ordinance of the law, and the loaves are set forth on a most clean table, and there is with us the golden candlestick, and the lamps thereof, to be lighted always in the evening: for we keep the precepts of the Lord our God, whom you have forsaken.

¹²Therefore God is the leader in our army, and his priests who sound with trumpets, and resound against you: O children of Israel, fight not against the Lord the God of your fathers, for it is not good for you.

¹³While he spoke these things, Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind him. And while he stood facing the enemies, he encompassed Juda, who perceived it not, with his army.

¹⁴And when Juda looked back, they saw the battle coming upon them both before and behind, and they cried to the Lord: and the priests began to sound with the trumpets.

¹⁵And all the men of Juda shouted: and behold when they shouted, God terrified Jeroboam, and all Israel that stood against Abia and Juda.

¹⁶And the children of Israel fled before Juda, and the Lord delivered them into their hand.

¹⁷And Abia and his people slew them with a great slaughter, and there fell wounded of Israel five hundred thousand valiant men.

¹⁸And the children of Israel were brought down, at that time, and the children of Juda were exceedingly strengthened, because they had trusted in the Lord the God of their fathers.

¹⁹And Abia pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Bethel and her daughters, and Jesana with her daughters, Ephron also and her daughters.

²⁰And Jeroboam was not able to resist any more, in the days of Abia: and the Lord struck him, and he died.

²¹But Abia, being strengthened in his kingdom, took fourteen wives: and begot two and twenty sons, and sixteen daughters.

²²And the rest of the acts of Abia, and of his ways and works, are written diligently in the book of Addo the prophet.

Chapter 14

And Abia slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead: in his days the land was quiet ten years.

²And Asa did that which was good and pleasing in the sight of his God, and he destroyed the altars of foreign worship, and the high places.

³And broke the statues, and cut down the groves.

⁴And he commanded Juda to seek the Lord the God of their fathers, and to do the law, and all the commandments.

⁵And he took away out of all the cities of Juda the altars, and temples, and reigned in peace.

⁶He built also strong cities in Juda, for he was quiet, and there had no wars risen in his time, the Lord giving peace.

⁷And he said to Juda: Let us build these cities, and compass them with walls, and fortify them with towers, and gates, and bars, while all is quiet from wars, because we have sought the Lord the God of our fathers, and he hath given us peace round about. So they built, and there was no hinderance in building.

⁸And Asa had in his army of men that bore shields and spears of Juda three hundred thousand, and of Benjamin that bore shields and drew bows, two hundred and eighty thousand, all these were most valiant men.

⁹And Zara the Ethiopian came out against them with his army of ten hundred thousand men, and with three hundred chariots: and he came as far as Maresa.

¹⁰And Asa went out to meet him, and set his army in array for battle in the vale of Sephata, which is near Maresa:

¹¹And he called upon the Lord God, and said: Lord, there is no difference with thee, whether thou help with few, or with many: help us, O Lord our God: for with confidence in thee, and in thy name we are come against this multitude. O Lord thou art our God, let not man prevail against thee.

¹²And the Lord terrified the Ethiopians before Asa and Juda: and the Ethiopians fled.

¹³And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them to Gerara: and the Ethiopians fell even to utter destruction, for the Lord slew them, and his army fought against them, and they were destroyed. And they took abundance of spoils,

¹⁴And they took all the cities round about Gerara: for a great fear was come upon all men: and they pillaged the cities, and carried off much booty.

¹⁵And they destroyed the sheepcotes, and took an infinite number of cattle, and of camels: and returned to Jerusalem.

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