2 Chronicles 11
1 And 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.
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 to 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 says the LORD, You shall not go up, nor fight against your brothers: 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.
‘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 dwelled in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense 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 Bethlehem, 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 Bethzur, and Shoco, 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 fenced cities.
Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron.
11 And he fortified the strong holds, and put captains in them, and store of victual, and of 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 several city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side.
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 resorted to him out of all their coasts.
The priests and other descendants of Levi throughout Israel supported Rehoboam.
14 For 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 to 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 ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, 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 God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to the LORD 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 three years they walked 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 Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David to wife, and 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 Which bore him children; Jeush, and Shamariah, and Zaham.
Rehoboam and Mahalath had three sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
20 And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; which 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 Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and three score concubines; and begat twenty and eight sons, and three score 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 made Abijah the son of Maachah the chief, to be ruler among his brothers: for he thought 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 children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, to every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance. And he desired 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.
