^13:1In the eighteenth year of the reign of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah. ^13:2He ruled for three years in Jerusalem.¹ His mother was Michaiah, the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah.²

There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ^13:3Abijah launched the attack with 400,000 well-trained warriors,³ while Jeroboam deployed against him 800,000 well-trained warriors.⁴

^13:4Abijah ascended Mount Zemaraim, in the Ephraimite hill country, and said: “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel! ^13:5Don’t you realize that the Lord God of Israel has given David and his dynasty lasting dominion over Israel by a formal agreement?⁵^13:6Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master. ^13:7Lawless good-for-nothing men⁶ gathered around him and conspired⁷ against Rehoboam son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was an inexperienced young man⁸ and could not resist them. ^13:8Now you are declaring that you will resist the Lord’s rule through the Davidic dynasty.⁹ You have a huge army,¹⁰ and bring with you the gold calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods. ^13:9But you banished¹¹ the Lord’s priests, Aaron’s descendants, and the Levites, and appointed your own priests just as the surrounding nations do! Anyone who comes to consecrate himself with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of these fake gods!¹²^13:10But as for us, the Lord is our God and we have not rejected him. Aaron’s descendants serve as the Lord’s priests and the Levites assist them with the work.¹³^13:11They offer burnt sacrifices to the Lord every morning and every evening, along with fragrant incense. They arrange the Bread of the Presence on a ritually clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. Certainly¹⁴ we are observing the Lord our God’s regulations, but you have rejected him. ^13:12Now look, God is with us as our leader. His priests are ready to blow the trumpets to signal the attack against you.¹⁵ You Israelites, don’t fight against the Lord God of your ancestors,¹⁶ for you will not win!”

^13:13Now Jeroboam had sent some men to ambush the Judahite army from behind.¹⁷ The main army was in front of the Judahite army;¹⁸ the ambushers were behind it. ^13:14The men of Judah turned around and realized they were being attacked from the front and the rear.¹⁹ So they cried out for help to the Lord. The priests blew their trumpets, ^13:15and the men of Judah gave²⁰ the battle cry. As the men of Judah gave the battle cry, the Lord struck down Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ^13:16The Israelites fled from before the Judahite army,²¹ and God handed them over to the men of Judah.²²^13:17Abijah and his army thoroughly defeated them;²³ 500,000 well-trained Israelite men fell dead.²⁴^13:18That day²⁵ the Israelites were defeated; the men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the Lord God of their ancestors.

^13:19Abijah chased Jeroboam; he seized from him these cities: Bethel²⁶ and its surrounding towns, Jeshanah and its surrounding towns, and Ephron and its surrounding towns. ^13:20Jeroboam did not regain power during the reign of Abijah.²⁷ The Lord struck him down and he died. ^13:21Abijah’s power grew; he had²⁸ fourteen wives and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

^13:22The rest of the events of Abijah’s reign, including his deeds and sayings,²⁹ are recorded in the writings of the prophet Iddo.

^{14:1 (13:23)}¹Abijah passed away² and was buried in the City of David.³ His son Asa replaced him as king. During his reign⁴ the land had rest for ten years.

Asa’s Religious and Military Accomplishments

^14:2Asa did what the Lord his God desired and approved.⁵^14:3He removed the pagan altars⁶ and the high places, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.⁷^14:4He ordered Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors⁸ and to observe his law and commands.⁹^14:5He removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. The kingdom had rest under his rule.¹⁰

^14:6He built fortified cities throughout Judah, for the land was at rest and there was no war during those years; the Lord gave him peace. ^14:7He said to the people of Judah:¹¹ “Let’s build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates.¹² The land remains ours because we have followed¹³ the Lord our God and he has made us secure on all sides.”¹⁴ So they built the cities¹⁵ and prospered.

^14:8Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah, equipped with large shields and spears. He also had 280,000 men from Benjamin who carried small shields and were adept archers; they were all skilled warriors. ^14:9Zerah the Cushite marched against them with an army of 1,000,000¹⁶ men and 300 chariots. He arrived at Mareshah, ^14:10and Asa went out to oppose him. They deployed for battle in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

^14:11Asa prayed¹⁷ to the Lord his God: “O Lord, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered.¹⁸ Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army.¹⁹ O Lord our God, don’t let men prevail against you!”²⁰^14:12The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, ^14:13and Asa and his army chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites were wiped out;²¹ they were shattered before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah²² carried off a huge amount of plunder. ^14:14They defeated all the cities surrounding Gerar, for the Lord caused them to panic.²³ The men of Judah²⁴ looted all the cities, for they contained a huge amount of goods.²⁵^14:15They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen in charge of the livestock.²⁶ They carried off many sheep and camels and then returned to Jerusalem.²⁷

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Footnotes

1 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
2 The parallel text in 1 Kgs 15:1 identifies his mother as “Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom” [=Absalom, 2 Chr 11:20). Although most English versions identify the mother’s father as Uriel of Gibeah, a number of English versions substitute the name “Maacah” here for the mother (e.g., , , , ).
3 Heb “and Abijah bound [i.e., began] the battle with a force of warriors, four hundred thousand chosen men.”
4 Heb “and Jeroboam arranged with him [for] battle with eight hundred thousand chosen men, strong warrior[s].”
5 Heb “Do you not know that the Lord God of Israel has given kingship to David over Israel permanently, to him and to his sons [by] a covenant of salt?” For other references to a “covenant of salt,” see Lev 2:13 and Num 18:19.
6 Heb “empty men, sons of wickedness.”
7 Heb “strengthened themselves.”
8 Heb “a young man and tender of heart.”
9 Heb “the kingdom of the Lord by the hand of the sons of David.”
10 Or “horde”; or “multitude.”
11 In the Hebrew text this is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Did you not banish?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you did,” the force of which is reflected in the translation “But you banished.”
12 Heb “whoever comes to fill his hand with a bull of a son of cattle, and seven rams, and he is a priest to no-gods.”
13 Heb “and priests serving the Lord [are] the sons of Aaron and the Levites in the work.”
14 Or “for.”
15 Heb “and his priests and the trumpets of the war alarm [are ready] to sound out against you.”
16 Heb “fathers” (also in v. 18).
17 Heb “and Jeroboam had caused to circle around an ambush to come from behind them.”
18 Heb “Judah.”
19 Heb “and Judah turned, and, look, to them [was] the battle in front and behind.”
20 Heb “shouted out.”
21 Heb “Judah.”
22 Heb “them”; the referent (the men of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 Heb “struck them down with a great striking down.”
24 Heb “and [the] slain from Israel fell, five hundred thousand chosen men.”
25 Heb “at that time.”
26 For location see ; ; ; ; .
27 Heb “and the strength of Jeroboam was not retained again in the days of Abijah.”
28 Heb “lifted up for himself.”
29 Heb “and his ways and his words.”
1 Beginning with 14:1, the verse numbers through 14:15 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (), with 14:1 = 13:23 , 14:2 = 14:1 , 14:3 = 14:2 , etc., through 14:15 = 14:14 . Beginning with 15:1 the verse numbers in the and are again the same.
2 Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
3 The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
4 Heb “in his days.”
5 Heb “and Asa did the good and the right in the eyes of the Lord his God.”
6 Heb “the altars of the foreigner.”
7 Asherah poles. A leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon was Asherah, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles (Hebrew אֲשֵׁרִים [’asherim], as here). They were to be burned or cut down (Deut 7:5; 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).
8 Heb “fathers.”
9 Heb “the law and the command.”
10 Heb “before him.”
11 The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the people of Judah.
12 Heb “and we will surround [them] with wall[s] and towers, doors, and bars.”
13 Heb “sought.”
14 Heb “and he has given us rest all around.”
15 The words “the cities” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
16 Heb “a thousand thousands.”
17 Heb “called out.”
18 Heb “there is not with you to help between many with regard to [the one] without strength.”
19 Heb “and in your name we have come against this multitude.”
20 Heb “let not man retain [strength] with you.”
21 Heb “and there fell from the Cushites so that there was not to them preservation of life.”
22 Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 Heb “for the terror of the Lord was upon them.”
24 Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 Heb “for great plunder was in them.”
26 Heb “and also they struck down the tents of the livestock.”
27 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .