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Abijah’s Reign over Judah

15 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah[a] became king over Judah. He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom.[b] He followed all the sinful practices of his father before him. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had been.[c] Nevertheless for David’s sake the Lord his God maintained his dynasty[d] in Jerusalem by giving him a son[e] to succeed him[f] and by protecting Jerusalem.[g] He did this[h] because David had done what he approved[i] and had not disregarded any of his commandments[j] his entire lifetime, except for the incident involving Uriah the Hittite. Rehoboam[k] and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other throughout Abijah’s[l] lifetime. The rest of the events of Abijah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.[m] Abijah and Jeroboam had been at war with each other. Abijah passed away[n] and was buried[o] in the City of David. His son Asa replaced him as king.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 15:1 tc The Old Greek also has the phrase “the son of Rehoboam.”
  2. 1 Kings 15:2 sn Abishalom (also in v. 10) is a variant of the name Absalom (cf. 2 Chr 11:20). The more common form is used by TEV, NLT.
  3. 1 Kings 15:3 tn Heb “his heart was not complete with the Lord his God, like the heart of David his father.”
  4. 1 Kings 15:4 tn Heb “gave him a lamp.”
  5. 1 Kings 15:4 tc The Old Greek has the plural “his sons.”
  6. 1 Kings 15:4 tn Heb “by raising up his son after him.”
  7. 1 Kings 15:4 tn Heb “and by causing Jerusalem to stand firm.”
  8. 1 Kings 15:5 tn The words “he did this” are added for stylistic reasons.
  9. 1 Kings 15:5 tn Heb “what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”
  10. 1 Kings 15:5 tn Heb “and had not turned aside from all which he commanded him.”
  11. 1 Kings 15:6 tc Most Hebrew mss read “Rehoboam”; a few Hebrew mss and the Syriac read “Abijam” (a variant of Abijah).
  12. 1 Kings 15:6 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Abijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  13. 1 Kings 15:7 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Abijah, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
  14. 1 Kings 15:8 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.” The Old Greek also has these words: “in the twenty-eighth year of Jeroboam.”
  15. 1 Kings 15:8 tn Heb “and they buried him.”