15:1 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah ¹  became king over Judah. 15:2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. ²  His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom. ³  15:3 He followed all the sinful practices of his father before him. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had been. ⁴  15:4 Nevertheless for David’s sake the Lord his God maintained his dynasty ⁵  in Jerusalem by giving him a son ⁶  to succeed him ⁷  and by protecting Jerusalem. ⁸  15:5 He did this ⁹  because David had done what he approved ¹⁰  and had not disregarded any of his commandments ¹¹  his entire lifetime, except for the incident involving Uriah the Hittite.