2 Chronicles 11
1 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.
And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem; and he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men apt for war, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.
2 But Yahweh spoke to the prophet Shemaiah and said this to him:
But the word of Jehovah came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
3 “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:
Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,
4 ‘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].
Thus saith Jehovah: Go not up, nor fight with your brethren; return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. And they hearkened to the words of Jehovah, and returned from going against Jeroboam.
5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and his workers built walls around several of the cities and towns in Judah to protect them [against enemy attacks].
And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah.
6 In [the area that belonged to] the tribes of Judah and Benjamin they built walls around Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
And he built Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,
7 Beth-Zur, Soco, Adullam,
and Beth-zur, and Soco, and Adullam,
8 Gath, Mareshah,
and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,
9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,
and Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,
10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron.
and Zorah, and Ajalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities.
11 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].
And he fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of victuals, and of oil and wine;
12 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.
and in every several city, targets and spears, and made them exceedingly strong. And Judah and Benjamin were his.
13 The priests and other descendants of Levi throughout Israel supported Rehoboam.
And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their districts;
14 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.
for the Levites left their suburbs and their possessions, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from exercising the priesthood to Jehovah;
15 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.
and he ordained for himself priests for the high places, and for the he-goats and for the calves that he had made.
16 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].
— And after them, those out of all the tribes of Israel that set their heart to seek Jehovah the God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to Jehovah the God of their fathers.
17 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.
And they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong three years; for during three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon.
18 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.
And Rehoboam took Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David as wife, [and of] Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse.
19 Rehoboam and Mahalath had three sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
And she bore him children: Jeush, and Shemariah, and Zaham.
20 Later Rehoboam married Maacah, the daughter of Absalom, and they had four sons: Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; and she bore him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.
21 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.
And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines; for he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he begot twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
22 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.
And Rehoboam established Abijah the son of Maachah at the head, to be ruler among his brethren; for [he thought] to make him king.
23 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.
And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, to all the fortified cities; and he gave them food in abundance. And he desired [for them] a multitude of wives.
