4. Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim. It's in the hill country of Ephraim. Abijah said, "Jeroboam and all you men of Israel, listen to me!
5. The Lord is the God of Israel. Don't you know that he has placed David and his sons after him on Israel's throne forever? The Lord made a covenant of salt with David. The salt means the covenant will last for all time to come.
6. "Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, was an official of David's son Solomon. But he refused to obey his master.
7. Some worthless and evil men gathered around him. They opposed Solomon's son Rehoboam. At that time Rehoboam was young. He couldn't make up his mind. He wasn't strong enough to stand up against those men.
8. "Now you plan to stand up against the kingdom of the Lord. His kingdom is in the hands of men in David's family line. It's true that you have a huge army. You have the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods.