1. Abijam became king of Judah during the eighteenth year Jeroboam son of Nebat was king of Israel.
2. Abijam ruled in Jerusalem for three years. His mother was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.
3. He did all the same sins his father before him had done. Abijam was not faithful to the Lord his God as David, his great-grandfather, had been.
4. Because the Lord loved David, the Lord gave him a kingdom in Jerusalem and allowed him to have a son to be king after him. The Lord also kept Jerusalem safe.
5. David always did what the Lord said was right and obeyed his commands all his life, except the one time when David sinned against Uriah the Hittite.