1. In the eighteenth year of the reign of King Jeroboam of Israel, Abijah became king of Judah,
2. and he ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Absalom.
3. He committed the same sins as his father and was not completely loyal to the Lord his God, as his great-grandfather David had been.
4. But for David's sake, the Lord his God gave Abijah a son to rule after him in Jerusalem and to keep Jerusalem secure.