2 Chronicles 11
1 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, that were warriors, to fight against Israel, to bring the kingdom back to Rehoboam.
When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he gathered 180,000 of the best soldiers from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. He wanted them to fight against [the northern tribes of] Israel [and defeat them], in order that he could rule [all the tribes of] the kingdom again.
2 But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying:
But Yahweh spoke to the prophet Shemaiah and said this to him:
3 'Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying:
“Go and tell this to [Solomon’s son] Rehoboam, the king of Judah, and to all the Israeli people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin:
4 Thus saith the LORD: Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren; return every man to his house, for this thing is of Me.' So they hearkened unto the words of the LORD, and returned from going against Jeroboam.
‘Yahweh says that you must not go to fight against [the people of Israel; they are] your distant relatives. All of you must go home. What has happened is what Yahweh wanted to happen.’” [So Shemaiah went and told that to them, ] and they all heeded what Yahweh had commanded them to do, and they did not attack Jeroboam [and his soldiers].
5 And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah.
Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and his workers built walls around several of the cities and towns in Judah to protect them [against enemy attacks].
6 He built even Beth-lehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,
In [the area that belonged to] the tribes of Judah and Benjamin they built walls around Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
7 and Beth-zur, and Soco, and Adullam,
Beth-Zur, Soco, Adullam,
8 and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,
Gath, Mareshah,
9 and Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,
Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,
10 and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities.
Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron.
11 And he fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and store of victual, and oil and wine.
He also appointed an army commander in each of those cities and towns, and gave them supplies of food, olive oil, and wine [to keep in storage].
12 And in every city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong. And Judah and Benjamin adhered to him.
He put shields and spears in all the cities and made them well-protected. So he continued to rule the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
13 And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel presented themselves to him out of all their border.
The priests and other descendants of Levi throughout Israel supported Rehoboam.
14 For the Levites left their open land and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem; for Jeroboam and his sons cast them off, that they should not execute the priest's office unto the LORD;
The descendants of Levi [who lived outside the territory of Judah and Benjamin] abandoned their property and their pastureland, and they came to Jerusalem and [to other places in] Judah, because Jeroboam and his sons would not allow them to do the work of priests of Yahweh.
15 and he appointed him priests for the high places, and for the satyrs, and for the calves which he had made.
Instead, Jeroboam appointed the priests that he wanted to work [at the altars he commanded to be built] on the hilltops, [to offer sacrifices to] the idols that he commanded to be made [that resembled] goats and calves.
16 And after them, out of all the tribes of Israel, such as set their hearts to seek the LORD, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice unto the LORD, the God of their fathers.
And people from every tribe in Israel who wanted to worship Yahweh, the God to whom the Israelis belonged, went with the descendants of Levi to Jerusalem to live there and to offer sacrifices to Yahweh, the God whom their ancestors [worshiped].
17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years; for they walked three years in the way of David and Solomon.
They caused the kingdom of Judah to be strong, and for three years they were happy that Solomon’s son Rehoboam was the king. During that time they conducted their lives [righteously] as David and Solomon had done previously.
18 And Rehoboam took him a wife, Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse;
Rehoboam married Mahalath. She was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth, and her mother was Abihail, the daughter of Eliab and granddaughter of Jesse.
19 and she bore him sons: Jeush, and Shemariah, and Zaham.
Rehoboam and Mahalath had three sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
20 And after her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom; and she bore him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.
Later Rehoboam married Maacah, the daughter of Absalom, and they had four sons: Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
21 And Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines — for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines, and begot twenty and eight sons and threescore daughters.
Rehoboam loved Maacah more than he loved any other of his wives and slave wives. Altogether he had 18 wives and 60 slave wives, and 28 sons and 60 daughters.
22 And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah to be chief, even the prince among his brethren; for he was minded to make him king.
Rehoboam appointed his son Abijah to be the leader of his [older and younger] brothers, because he wanted to appoint Abijah to be the next king.
23 And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fortified city; and he gave them victual in abundance. And he sought for them many wives.
He very wisely sent some of his other sons to other cities in the areas of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and to all the other cities that had walls around them. He gave them plenty of supplies and many wives.
