2 Beresosɛm 11
1 Bere a Rehoboam duu Yerusalem no, ɔboaboaa Yuda ne Benyamin asraafo a wosi pi si ta mpem ɔha aduɔwɔtwe ano, sɛ wɔrekɔko atia Israel asraafo, na wɔagye ahenni no afa.
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 Na Awurade ka kyerɛɛ Onyankopɔn nipa Semaia se,
But Yahweh spoke to the prophet Shemaiah and said this to him:
3 “Ka kyerɛ Salomo babarima Rehoboam a odi hene wɔ Yuda ne Israelfo a wɔwɔ Yuda ne Benyamin no se,
“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 Sɛnea Awurade se ni: ‘Nko ntia wʼabusuafo. San wʼakyi kɔ fie, efisɛ me na memaa asɛm a asi no ho kwan!’” Enti wotiee Awurade asɛm no, na wɔanko antia Yeroboam.
‘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 tenaa Yerusalem, na ɔbɔɔ nkurow ahorow ho ban, maa Yuda yɛɛ den.
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 Ɔkyekyeree Betlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
In [the area that belonged to] the tribes of Judah and Benjamin they built walls around Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
7 Bet-Sur, Soko, Adulam,
Beth-Zur, Soco, Adullam,
8 Gat, Maresa, Sif,
Gath, Mareshah,
9 Adoraim, Lakis, Aseka,
Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,
10 Sora, Ayalon ne Hebron. Eyinom ne nkurow a wɔbɔɔ ho ban wɔ Yuda ne Benyamin.
Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron.
11 Rehoboam yeree wɔn bammɔ mu, na ɔde asahene duaduaa hɔ. Ɔkoraa nnuan, ngo ne nsa wɔ kuropɔn biara so.
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 Ɔde nkatabo ne mpeaw siee wɔ saa nkurow yi mu de hyɛɛ wɔn bammɔ mu den. Enti Yuda ne Benyamin nko ara na wɔbɛhyɛɛ nʼase.
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 Asɔfo ne Lewifo a na wɔne Israel atifi fam mmusuakuw te no kɔɔ Rehoboam afa.
The priests and other descendants of Levi throughout Israel supported Rehoboam.
14 Na Lewifo no mpo gyaw wɔn afi ne wɔn agyapade kɔɔ Yuda ne Yerusalem, efisɛ Yeroboam ne ne mmabarima amma wɔn kwan ansom Awurade sɛ asɔfo.
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 Yeroboam yii nʼankasa asɔfo ma wɔsom wɔ abosonsomfo nsɔre so a na wɔsom abirekyi ne nantwimma ahoni a na wɔayɛ.
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 Israelman mu nyinaa, wɔn a na wɔpɛ sɛ wɔsom Awurade, Israel Nyankopɔn no dii Lewifo no akyi kɔɔ Yerusalem faako a wobetumi de ayɛyɛde ama Awurade, wɔn agyanom Nyankopɔn no.
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 Eyi maa Yuda ahenni nyaa ahoɔden, na wɔde mfe abiɛsa boaa Salomo babarima Rehoboam, na wɔhwehwɛɛ Awurade nokware, sɛnea wɔyɛɛ wɔ Dawid ne Salomo ahenni mu no.
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 waree Mahalat. Na ɔyɛ Dawid babarima Yerimot babea. Na ɔyɛ Abihail a ɔyɛ Yisai babarima Eliab babea nso.
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 Mahalat woo mmabarima baasa a wɔne Yeus, Semaria ne Saham.
Rehoboam and Mahalath had three sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
20 Akyiri no, ɔwaree Absalom babea Maaka. Maaka woo Abia, Atai, Sisa ne Selomit.
Later Rehoboam married Maacah, the daughter of Absalom, and they had four sons: Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
21 Na Rehoboam dɔ Maaka yiye sen ne yerenom a wɔaka ne ne mpenanom nyinaa. Na ɔwɔ yerenom dunwɔtwe ne mpenanom aduosia, na wɔwowoo mmabarima aduonu awotwe ne mmabea aduosia.
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 sii Maaka babarima Abia ahenemmahene ma ɛdaa adi pefee sɛ daakye, ɔno na obedi nʼade sɛ ɔhene.
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 Bio, Rehoboam faa nyansakwan so de dwumadi hyehyɛɛ ne mmabarima a wɔaka no nsa, de wɔn tuatuaa nkurow a wɔabɔ ho ban, wɔ nsase no nyinaa so. Ɔmaa wɔn wɔn ahiade nyinaa, hyehyɛɛ aware bebree maa wɔn mu biara.
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.
