1In the year eighteen of the kingdom of Yorbaam, son of Nebat, Abia arose in the kingdom over the tribe of the house of Yehuda. 2And he reigned three years in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother was Maaka, daughter of Uriel, from Ramtha. 3And Abia girded men as workers of war, four hundred thousand young men, until they took upon them to go and they would make war with Yorbaam, son of Nebat, and Yorbaam, son of Nebat, gathered an army to himself and came so that he made war with eight hundred thousand men, young mighty men of power.

4And Abia stood on the Mountain of Tsemarim that is at the border of the Mountain of Aphreim, and said: “Hear, Yorbaam, son of Nebat, and all Israel! 5Doubtless you are aware that LORD JEHOVAH God of Israel gave the Kingdom to David over Israel for eternity, to him and to his sons as a covenant of the King. 6And Yorbaam, son of Nebat, Servant of Solomon, the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his Master. 7And he gathered to himself wicked men, sons of evil, and he prevailed against Rekhabaam the son of Solomon, and Rekhabaam was a boy and a child of days and did not know what to say, and he did not comfort the people about the bondage to which Solomon his father had subjected them.

8Also now what do you say? You went and you put away from yourselves the kingdom of the house of David and you went and you served dead gods, and I am standing over one tribe in the kingdom, and you are many tribes, and a calf of gold is among you that Yorbaam son of Nebat made for you. 9And you have put away the Priests, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and you have made for yourselves pagan Priests from the people of the land, everyone whoever enters to bring a gift, you are taking from him a bull, a son of a herd, and seven rams, and he becomes a pagan Priest to what are no gods. 10And we have not left LORD JEHOVAH our God, and the Priests who serve LORD JEHOVAH are the sons of Aaron and the Levites in their ministries. 11And they have been offering up sacrifices to LORD JEHOVAH by every dawn, and by every sunset, and the incense burners of sweet incense and rows of bread on the pure tables, and the menorah of gold and their lamps, and the lamp lighter boy lighting them by every sunset, and we keep the observances of LORD JEHOVAH our God. 12But you, you have forsaken him and you have gone after dead gods and you have served them and you have worshiped them and you forsake LORD JEHOVAH, God of your fathers, also you shall not prosper in the world.”

15And it was that when the men of the house of Yehuda lifted up their voice, also LORD JEHOVAH defeated Yorbaam, son of Nebat, and Israel before Yehuda and before Abia. 16And the sons of Israel fled from before the sons of Yehuda. 17And Abia destroyed them with a great destruction, and the men of Israel fell, five hundred thousand young men. 18And the sons of Israel were defeated at that time, and the sons of Yehuda were valiant because they said: “Our reliance is on LORD JEHOVAH, the God of our fathers!” 19And Abia pursued after Yorbaam and seized great cities from him: Bayth Eil and its suburbs, Shela and its suburbs and Aphron and its suburbs.

20And Yorbaam’s power waned again in the days of Abiah, and LORD JEHOVAH struck Yorbaam and he died.

21And Abia was valiant and he took to himself fourteen wives, and twentysix male children were born to him and sixteen female children. 22And the rest of the accounts of Abiah and his ways and of his heroism, those are written in the Expositions of Edu the Prophet.