¹ 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 the word of Jehovah came to Shemaiah the man of¹ God, saying,

1. 11.2 Elohim

³ Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,

⁴ 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 And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah.

⁶ And he built Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,

⁷ and Beth-zur, and Soco, and Adullam,

⁸ and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,

⁹ and Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,

¹⁰ and Zorah, and Ajalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities.

¹¹ And he fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of victuals, and of oil and wine;

¹² and in every several city, targets and spears, and made them exceedingly strong. And Judah and Benjamin were his.

¹³ And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their districts;

¹⁴ 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 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 after them, those out of all the tribes of Israel that set their heart to seek Jehovah the¹ God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to Jehovah the² God of their fathers.

1. 11.16 Elohim
2. 11.16 Elohim

¹⁷ 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 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 And she bore him children: Jeush, and Shemariah, and Zaham.

²⁰ And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; and she bore him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.

²¹ 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 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 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.