Abijah Reigns in Judah
(1 Kings 15:1–8)

1The eyghteenth yere of king Ieroboam began Abia to raigne ouer Iuda. 2And he raigned three yeres in Hierusalem: (His mothers name also was Michaiahu, the daughter of Uriel of Gibea:) And ther was warre betweene Abia and Ieroboam. 3And Abia set the battaile in aray with the armie of valiaunt men of warre, eue foure hundred thousand chosen men: And Ieroboam set him selfe in aray to fight agaynst hym with eyght hundred thousand pickt men, which were strong, and men of armes.

Civil War against Jeroboam

4And Abia stoode vp vpon Zemaraim, an hill which is in mount Ephraim, and saide: Heare me thou Ieroboam and al Israel. 5Do not you knowe how that the Lord God of Israel gaue the kingdome ouer them of Israel to Dauid for euer, euen to him and to his sonnes, with a salted couenaunt? 6And Ieroboam the sonne of Nabat the seruaunt of Solomon the sonne of Dauid is risen vp, and hath rebelled against his lorde. 7And there gathered to him lewde men, the children of Belial, and preuailed against Rehoboam the sonne of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tender hearted, and could not stand before them.

8And now ye say, that ye be able to preuaile against the kingdome of the Lord, which is in the hande of the sonnes of Dauid, and ye be a great multitude, and haue the golden calues which Ieroboam made you for gods. 9And haue ye not cast out the priestes of the Lorde the sonnes of Aaron and the Leuites, and haue made you priestes after the maner of the nations of other landes? so that whosoeuer commeth & consecrateth his hande with a young oxe and seuen rammes, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods. 10But we belong vnto the Lorde our God whom we haue not forsaken, and the priestes are the sonnes of Aaron which minister vnto the Lorde, and the Leuites wayte vpon their office. 11They burne vnto the Lorde euery morning and euening burnt sacrifices, and sweete incense: the shewe bread set they in order vpon a pure table, and prepare the candelsticke of golde with the lampes of the same to burne euer at eue: And truly we kept the watch of the lord our God, but ye haue forsaken him. 12And beholde, God him selfe is our captayne, and his priestes blowe with the trumpettes and crie alarum against you. O ye children of Israel, fight not against the Lorde God of your fathers: for it wyll not prosper with you.

13But for all that, Ieroboam conuayed men priuyly about, to come behinde the: and so they were before Iuda, and the layers in wayte were behinde them. 14And when they of Iuda loked about, beholde the battaile was before and behinde, and they cryed vnto the Lorde, and the priestes blewe with the trumpettes, 15And the men of Iuda gaue a showte: And as the men of Iuda showted, it came to passe that God smote Ieroboam and all Israel before Abia and Iuda. 16And the children of Israel fled before Iuda, and God delyuered them into their hande. 17And Abia and his people slue a great slaughter of them: There fell downe wounded of Israel fiue hundred thousand chosen men. 18And so the children of Israel were brought vnder at that time, & the children of Iuda preuayled, because they leaned vnto the Lorde God of their fathers. 19And Abia folowed after Ieroboam, and toke cities from him, Bethel with the townes belonging thereto, Iesana with the townes that belonged thereto, and Ephron with her townes.

20And Ieroboam recouered no strength againe in the dayes of Abia: And the Lorde plagued him, and he dyed.

21But Abia waxed mightie, and maryed foureteene wiues, and begat twentie and two sonnes, and sixteene daughters. 22The rest of the actes of Abia, his maners and his sayinges, are written in the story of the prophete Iddo.