And when silence was make, he began to speak, and told them, - "God had consented that David and his posterity should be their rulers for all time to come, and this you yourselves are not unacquainted with; but I cannot but wonder how you should forsake my father, and join yourselves to his servant Jeroboam, and are now here with him to fight against those who, by God's own determination, are to reign, and to deprive them of that dominion which they have still retained; for as to the greater part of it, Jeroboam is unjustly in possession of it.

However, I do not suppose he will enjoy it any longer; but when he hath suffered that punishment which God thinks due to him for what is past, he will leave off the transgressions he hath been guilty of, and the injuries he hath offered to him, and which he hath still continued to offer, and hath persuaded you to do the same; yet when you were not any further unjustly treated by my father, than he did not speak to you so as to please you, and this only in compliance with the advice of wicked men, you in anger forsook him, as you pretended, but, in reality, you withdrew yourselves from God, and from his laws, although it had been right for you to have forgiven a man that was young in age, and not used to govern people, not only some disagreeable words, but if his youth and unskillfulness in affairs had led hm into some unfortunate actions, and that for the sake of his father Solomon, and the benefits you received from him; for men ought to excuse the sins of posterity on account of the benefaction of parents; but you considered nothing of all this then, neither do you consider it now, but come with so great an army against us.

And what is it you depend upon for victory? Is it upon these golden heifers and the altars that you have on high places, which are demonstrations of your impiety, and not of religious worship? Or is it the exceeding multitude of your army which gives you such good hopes? Yet certainly there is no strength at all in an army of many ten thousands, when the war is unjust; for we ought to place our surest hope of success against our enemies in righteousness alone, and in piety towards God; which hope we justly have, since we have kept the laws from the beginning, and have worshipped our own God, who was not make by hands out of corruptible matter; nor was he formed by a wicked king, inn order to deceive the multitude; but who is his own workmanship,* and the beginning and end of all things.

(5) Ought ye not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, {even} to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?

(6) Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, is risen up, and hath rebelled against his lord.

(7) And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them.

(8) And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David; and ye {be} a great multitude, and {there are} with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.

(9) Have ye not cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of {other} lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, {the same} may be a priest of {them that are} no gods.

(10) But as for us, the Lord {is} our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the Lord, {are} the sons of Aaron, and the Levites {wait} upon {their} business:

(11) And they burn unto the Lord every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also {set they in} order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the Lord our God; but ye have forsaken him.

But while he was still speaking, Jeroboam sent some of his soldiers  privately to encompass Abijah round about, on certain parts of the camp that were not taken notice of; and when he was thus within the compass of the enemy, his army was affrighted, and their courage failed them.

But Abijah encouraged them, and exhorted them to place their hopes on God, for that he was not encompassed by the enemy.

So they all at once implored the Divine assistance, while the priests sounded with the trumpet, and they make a shout, and fell upon their enemies, and God brake the courage, and cast down the force of their enemies, and make of victory; and such a slaughter was now make of Jeroboam's army as is never recorded to have happened in any other war, whether it were of the Greeks or of the Barbarians, for they overthrew (and slew) five hundred thousand of their enemies, and they took their strongest cities by force, and spoiled them; and besides those, they did the same to Bethel and her towns, and Jeshanah and her towns.

(14) And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle {was} before and behind: and they cried unto the Lord, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. (Note: The clergy took part in warfare.)

(15) Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

(16) And the children of Israel fled before Judah: and God delivered them into their hand.

(17) And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.

(18) Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers.