13 In the 18th year of King Yer·o·boʹam, A·biʹyah became king over Judah. 2 He reigned for three years in Yerushalom. His mother’s name was Mi·cayʹah the daughter of U·riʹel of Gibʹe·ah. And there was war between A·biʹyah and Yer·o·boʹam.
3 So A·biʹyah went to war with an army of 400,000 mighty, trained warriors. And Yer·o·boʹam drew up in battle formation against him with 800,000 trained men, mighty warriors. 4 A·biʹyah now stood on Mount Zem·a·raʹim, which is in the mountainous region of Eʹphra·im, and said: “Hear me, O Yer·o·boʹam and all Isra'Al. 5 Do you not know that Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah} the Yahavah {Yah'-ha-vah'} of Isra'Al gave to David a kingdom over Isra'Al forever, to him and to his sons, by a covenant of salt? 6 But Yer·o·boʹam the son of Neʹbat, the servant of David’s son Solʹo·mon, rose up and rebelled against his lord. 7 And idle, worthless men kept gathering to him. And they proved superior to Re·ho·boʹam the son of Solʹo·mon when Re·ho·boʹam was young and fainthearted, and he could not hold his own against them.
8 “And now you think you can hold your own against the kingdom of Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah} in the hand of the sons of David because you are a large crowd and you have the golden calves that Yer·o·boʹam made as gods for you. 9 Have you not driven out Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah}’s priests, the descendants of Aaron, and the Levites, and have you not appointed your own priests just like the peoples of the other lands? Anyone who came along with a young bull and seven rams could become a priest of what are not gods. 10 As for us, Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah} is our Yahavah {Yah'-ha-vah'}, and we have not abandoned him; our priests, the descendants of Aaron, are ministering to Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah}, and the Levites assist in the work. 11 They are making burnt offerings smoke to Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah} each morning and each evening along with perfumed incense, and the layer bread is on the table of pure gold, and they light up the golden lampstand and its lamps each evening, because we are caring for our responsibility to Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah} our Yahavah {Yah'-ha-vah'}; but you have abandoned him. 12 Now look! the true Yahavah {Yah'-ha-vah'} is with us, leading us, with his priests and the signal trumpets for sounding the battle alarm against you. O men of Isra'Al, do not fight against Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah} the Yahavah {Yah'-ha-vah'} of your forefathers, for you will not be successful.”
13 But Yer·o·boʹam dispatched an ambush to come from behind them, so that they were in front of Judah and the ambush was behind them. 14 When the men of Judah turned around, they saw that they had to fight the battle both in front and from behind. So they began to cry out to Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah}, while the priests were loudly sounding the trumpets. 15 The men of Judah broke out in a war cry, and when the men of Judah shouted the war cry, the true Yahavah {Yah'-ha-vah'} defeated Yer·o·boʹam and all Isra'Al before A·biʹyah and Judah. 16 The Isra'Al·ites fled before Judah, and Yahavah {Yah'-ha-vah'} gave them into their hand. 17 A·biʹyah and his people inflicted a great slaughter on them, and the slain of Isra'Al kept falling, 500,000 trained men. 18 Thus the men of Isra'Al were humbled at that time, but the men of Judah proved superior because they relied on Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah} the Yahavah {Yah'-ha-vah'} of their forefathers. 19 A·biʹyah kept chasing after Yer·o·boʹam and captured cities from him, Bethʹel and its dependent towns, Yeshʹa·nah and its dependent towns, and Eʹphra·in and its dependent towns. 20 And Yer·o·boʹam never regained his power during the time of A·biʹyah; then Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah} struck him down and he died.
21 But A·biʹyah grew in strength. In time he took 14 wives, and he became father to 22 sons and 16 daughters. 22 And the rest of A·biʹyah’s history, his deeds and his words, is recorded in the writings of the prophet Idʹdo.