15:1 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah 1 became king over Judah. 15:2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. 2 His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom. 3 15:3 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. 4 15:4 Nevertheless for David’s sake the Lord his God maintained his dynasty 5 in Jerusalem by giving him a son 6 to succeed him 7 and by protecting Jerusalem. 8 15:5 He did this 9 because David had done what he approved 10 and had not disregarded any of his commandments 11 his entire lifetime, except for the incident involving Uriah the Hittite. 15:6 Rehoboam 12 and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other throughout Abijah’s 13 lifetime. 15:7 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. 14 Abijah and Jeroboam had been at war with each other. 15:8 Abijah passed away 15 and was buried 16 in the city of David. His son Asa replaced him as king.
1 tc The Old Greek also has the phrase “the son of Rehoboam.”
2 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
3 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.
4 tn Heb “his heart was not complete with the
5 tn Heb “gave him a lamp.”
6 tc The Old Greek has the plural “his sons.”
7 tn Heb “by raising up his son after him.”
8 tn Heb “and by causing Jerusalem to stand firm.”
9 tn The words “he did this” are added for stylistic reasons.
10 tn Heb “what was right in the eyes of the
11 tn Heb “and had not turned aside from all which he commanded him.”
12 tc Most Hebrew
13 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Abijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 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?”
15 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.” The Old Greek also has these words: “in the twenty-eighth year of Jeroboam.”
16 tn Heb “and they buried him.”