II Chronicles 11

¹And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.

²But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

³Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,

⁴Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house: for this thing is done of me. And they obeyed the words of the Lord, and returned from going against Jeroboam.

⁵And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah.

⁶He built even Beth–lehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,

⁷And Beth–zur, and Shoco, and Adullam,

⁸And Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,

⁹And Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,

¹⁰And Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin fenced cities.

¹¹And he fortified the strong holds, and put captains in them, and store of victual, and of oil and wine.

¹²And in every several city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side.

¹³And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their coasts.

¹⁴For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the Lord:

¹⁵And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.

¹⁶And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the Lord God of their fathers.

¹⁷So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon.

¹⁸And Rehoboam took him Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David to wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse;

¹⁹Which bare him children; Jeush, and Shamariah, and Zaham.

²⁰And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; which bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.

²¹And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines; and begat twenty and eight sons, and threescore daughters.)

²²And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the chief, to be ruler among his brethren: for he thought to make him king.

²³And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance. And he desired many wives.

II Chronicles 11

¹When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mobilized the house of Judah and Benjamin—180,000 chosen warriors—to fight against Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.

²But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God:

³“Tell Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah and all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin

⁴that this is what the LORD says: ‘You are not to go up and fight against your brothers. Each of you must return home, for this word is from Me.’” So they listened to the words of the LORD and turned back from going against Jeroboam.

⁵Rehoboam continued to live in Jerusalem, and he built up cities for defense in Judah.

⁶He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,

⁷Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam,

⁸Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,

⁹Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,

¹⁰Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, the fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin.

¹¹He strengthened their fortresses and put officers in them, with supplies of food, oil, and wine.

¹²He also put shields and spears in all the cities and strengthened them greatly. So Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.

¹³Moreover, the priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel stood with Rehoboam.

¹⁴For the Levites left their pasturelands and their possessions and went to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the LORD.

¹⁵And Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat demons and calf idols he had made.

¹⁶Those from every tribe of Israel who had set their hearts to seek the LORD their God followed the Levites to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD, the God of their fathers.

¹⁷So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years, because they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.

¹⁸And Rehoboam married Mahalath, who was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab.

¹⁹She bore sons to him: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.

²⁰After her, he married Maacah daughter of Absalom, and she bore to him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

²¹Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he was the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

²²Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah as chief prince among his brothers, intending to make him king.

²³Rehoboam also acted wisely by dispersing some of his sons throughout the districts of Judah and Benjamin, and to all the fortified cities. He gave them abundant provisions and sought many wives for them.