Shemaiah’s Prophecy
And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem; and he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin — a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men, makers of war — to fight against Israel, to return the kingdom to Rehoboam.
And the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying:
“Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying:
Thus says the LORD: You shall not go up, and you shall not fight against your brothers. Return, each man to his house — for from me this thing has come about.” And they listened to the words of the LORD, and turned back from going against Jeroboam.
Rehoboam Fortifies Judah
And Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem; and he built cities for defense in Judah.
And he built Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,
and Beth-zur, and Soco, and Adullam,
and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,
and Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,
and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin — fortified cities.
And he strengthened the fortresses, and put commanders in them, and stores of food, and oil, and wine,
and in each and every city, shields and spears; and he made them exceedingly strong. And Judah and Benjamin were his.
Jeroboam Forsakes the Priests and Levites
And the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with him, from all their territory.
For the Levites abandoned their pasturelands and their possession and went to Judah and to Jerusalem — for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from serving as priests to the LORD,
and he had set up for himself priests for the high places, and for the goat-demons, and for the calves that he had made.
And after them, from all the tribes of Israel, those who gave their heart to seek the LORD, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD, the God of their fathers.
And they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, for three years — for they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.
Rehoboam’s Family
And Rehoboam took himself a wife: Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse.
And she bore him sons: Jeush, and Shemariah, and Zaham.
And after her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom; and she bore him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.
And Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom more than all his wives and his concubines — for he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
And Rehoboam set Abijah the son of Maacah at the head, as leader among his brothers — for he meant to make him king.
And he acted with understanding, and dispersed some of all his sons through all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, to all the fortified cities; and he gave them food in abundance. And he sought many wives for them.