1 Abijam began to rule over Judah in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel.
2 He reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom.
3 He committed the same sins as his father before him, and he was not faithful to the lord his God, as his ancestor David had been.
4 But for David’s sake, the lord his God allowed his descendants to continue ruling, shining like a lamp, and he gave Abijam a son to rule after him in Jerusalem.