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 when Rehobo'am was come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men, warriors, to fight against Israel, to bring back the kingdom again to Rehobo'am.

2 But Yahweh spoke to the prophet Shemaiah and said this to him:

But the word of the Lord came unto Shema'yahu 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:

Say unto Rehobo'am the son of Solomon, the king of 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 hath said the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight with your brethren: return every man to his house; for from me hath this thing been brought about. And they hearkened to the words of the Lord, and returned from going against Jerobo'am.

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 Rehobo'am dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities as fortresses in Judah.

6 In [the area that belonged to] the tribes of Judah and Benjamin they built walls around Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,

He built, namely, Beth-lechem, and 'Etam, and Thekoa'.

7 Beth-Zur, Soco, Adullam,

And Beth-zur, and Socho, and 'Adullam,

8 Gath, Mareshah,

And Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,

9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,

And Adorayim and Lachish, and 'Azekah,

10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron.

And Zor'ah, and Ayalon, 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 strengthened the strong-holds, and put commanders in them, and stores of food, and 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 each and every city [he placed] shields and spears, and made them exceedingly strong: and thus remained with him Judah and Benjamin.

13 The priests and other descendants of Levi throughout Israel supported Rehoboam.

And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel presented themselves to him out of all their territory.

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 open districts and their possession, and went to Judah and Jerusalem; because Jerobo'am and his sons cast them off from executing the priest's office unto the Lord,

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 [because] he ordained for himself priests for the high-places, and for the evil spirits, and for the calves which 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 [came] out of all the tribes of Israel such as directed their heart to seek the Lord the God of Israel: these came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the Lord, 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 brought power to Rehobo'am, the son of Solomon, during three years; for they walked in the way of David and Solomon during three years.

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 Rehobo'am took himself as wife Machalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, [and] Abichayil the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse;

19 Rehoboam and Mahalath had three sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.

And she bore to him sons: Je'ush, and Shamaryah, and Zaham.

20 Later Rehoboam married Maacah, the daughter of Absalom, and they had four sons: Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

And after her did he take Ma'achah the daughter of Abshalom; and she bore to him Abiyah, 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 Rehobo'am loved Ma'achah the daughter of Abshalom more than all his wives and his concubines; for he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines; and he begat twenty and 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 Rehobo'am appointed Abiyah the son of Ma'achah to be the chief, to be ruler among his brethren; because [he desired] 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 understandingly, and dispersed all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto all the fortified cities; and he gave them food in abundance and he required [for them] a multitude of wives.