2 Ihe E Mere 11
1 Mgbe Rehoboam bịarutere Jerusalem, ọ kpọkọtara ndị ụlọ Juda niile na ndị ebo Benjamin, ha dị narị puku na iri asatọ nʼọnụọgụgụ, ụmụ okorobịa ndị tozuru ịga agha, ka ha gaa buso ụlọ Izrel agha ma weghachitekwa alaeze nʼokpuru ọchịchị 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 Ma okwu Onyenwe anyị rutere Shemaya, onye nke Chineke ntị:
But Yahweh spoke to the prophet Shemaiah and said this to him:
3 “Gwa Rehoboam, nwa Solomọn eze Juda, na Izrel niile nọ na Juda na Benjamin,
“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 Otu a ka Onyenwe anyị kwuru, ‘Unu agakwala gaa buso ndị Izrel ibe unu agha. Laghachinụ, nwoke ọbụla nʼụlọ ya, nʼihi na ọ bụ m na-eme ihe ndị a.’” Ya mere, ha rubere isi nʼokwu niile nke Onyenwe anyị. Ha tụgharịrị laghachi azụ nʼịga megide 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 Rehoboam bigidere na Jerusalem wusie obodo ndị dị na Juda ike nʼihi nchedo.
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 Obodo ndị a bụ Betlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
In [the area that belonged to] the tribes of Judah and Benjamin they built walls around Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
7 Bet Zoa, Soko, Adulam,
Beth-Zur, Soco, Adullam,
8 Gat, Maresha, Zif,
Gath, Mareshah,
9 na Adoraim, Lakish, Azeka
Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,
10 Zora, Aijalon na Hebrọn. Obodo ndị a bụkwa obodo ndị Juda na Benjamin e wusiri ike.
Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron.
11 O wusiri ha ike tinye ndịisi agha nʼime ha, tinyekwa ihe oriri na mmanụ oliv na mmanya.
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 O tinyere ọta na ùbe nʼebe niile a na-edebe ngwa agha nʼobodo niile, nʼihi iche obodo ya nke ọma, ebe ọ bụ naanị Juda na Benjamin nọ nʼokpuru ya.
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 Ma ndị nchụaja niile na ndị Livayị ndị sitere nʼakụkụ niile nke Izrel dịnyere ya.
The priests and other descendants of Levi throughout Israel supported Rehoboam.
14 Ndị Livayị hapụchara ebe ịta nri anụ ụlọ ha na ihe niile ha nwere bịa biri na Juda na Jerusalem, nʼihi na Jeroboam na ụmụ ya ndị ikom jụrụ ha dịka ndị nchụaja Onyenwe anyị.
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 Ọ họpụtara ndị nchụaja nke aka ya, maka ebe niile dị elu, nakwa ife arụsị ewu na nwa ehi ndị ahụ ọ kpụrụ.
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 Ndị si nʼebo niile nke Izrel, ndị kpebiri nʼobi ha ịchọ Onyenwe anyị, Chineke Izrel sooro ndị Livayị bịa Jerusalem ịchụ aja nye Onyenwe anyị Chineke nna nna ha.
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 Ha mere ka alaeze Juda sie ike. Ha kwagidekwara Rehoboam nwa Solomọn afọ atọ, na-agbasokwa nʼụzọ niile nke Devid na Solomọn nʼoge a.
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 Rehoboam, lụrụ Mahalat, bụ nwa nwanyị Jerimot nwa Devid, na Abihail, nwa nwanyị Eliab, nwa Jesi.
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 Ọ mụtaara ya ụmụ ndị ikom atọ ndị a: Jeush, na Shemaraya, na Zaham.
Rehoboam and Mahalath had three sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
20 Emesịa, ọ lụkwara nwunye ọzọ aha ya bụ Maaka, nwa nwanyị Absalọm. Ụmụ ha mụtara bụ Abija, na Atai, na Ziza, na Shelomit.
Later Rehoboam married Maacah, the daughter of Absalom, and they had four sons: Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
21 Rehoboam hụrụ Maaka nwa nwanyị Absalọm nʼanya karịa ndị nwunye ya na ndị iko ya nwanyị niile. O nwere ndị nwunye iri na asatọ, nweekwa iri ndị iko nwanyị isii. Ọ mụtara iri ndị ikom abụọ na asatọ, na iri ụmụ nwanyị isii.
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 Rehoboam mere Abija nwa Maaka onyeisi nʼetiti ụmụ eze niile nʼihi na ọ chọrọ ime ya eze.
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 O ji ezi uche zipụchaa ụmụ ya ndị ikom gaa nʼala ndị Juda na Benjamin, nakwa nʼobodo ndị ahụ e wusiri ike. O nyere ha ihe e ji elekọta ndụ nʼebe ọ bara ụba ma lụọkwara ha ọtụtụ ndị inyom.
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.
