¹When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he summoned 180,000 skilled warriors from Judah and Benjamin to attack Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.[#tn Heb “he summoned the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen men, accomplished in war.”]

²But the Lord told Shemaiah the prophet,[#tn Heb “and the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying.”]

³“Say this to King Rehoboam son of Solomon of Judah and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin,

⁴‘The Lord says this: “Do not attack and make war with your brothers. Each of you go home, for I have caused this to happen.”’” They obeyed the Lord and called off the attack against Jeroboam.[#tn Heb “for his thing is from me.”; #tn Heb “and they heard the words of the Lord and returned from going against Jeroboam.”]

Rehoboam’s Reign

⁵Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem; he built up these fortified cities throughout Judah:[#map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.]

⁶Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,[#map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.]

⁷Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam,

⁸Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,

⁹Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,

¹⁰Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These were the fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin.

¹¹He fortified these cities and placed officers in them, as well as storehouses of food, olive oil, and wine.

¹²In each city there were shields and spears; he strongly fortified them. Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.[#tn Heb “he strengthened them greatly, very much.”]

¹³The priests and Levites who lived throughout Israel supported him, no matter where they resided.[#tn Heb “and the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel supported him from all their territory.”]

¹⁴The Levites even left their pasturelands and their property behind and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons prohibited them from serving as the Lord ’s priests.

¹⁵Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the worship centers and to lead in the worship of the goat idols and calf idols he had made.[#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jeroboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.; #tn Heb “for the high places.”; #tn Heb “and for the goats and for the calves he had made.”]

¹⁶Those among all the Israelite tribes who were determined to worship the Lord God of Israel followed them to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their ancestors.[#tn Heb “and after them from all the tribes of Israel, the ones giving their heart[s] to seek the Lord God of Israel came [to] Jerusalem.”; #tn Heb “fathers.”]

¹⁷They supported the kingdom of Judah and were loyal to Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years; they followed the edicts of David and Solomon for three years.[#tn Or “strengthened.”; #tn Or “strengthened.”; #tn Heb “they walked in the way of.”]

¹⁸Rehoboam married Mahalath the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab.[#tn Heb “took for himself a wife.”; #tn The words “and of” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.]

¹⁹She bore him sons named Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.

²⁰He later married Maacah the daughter of Absalom. She bore to him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

²¹Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than his other wives and concubines. He had eighteen wives and sixty concubines; he fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.[#sn Concubines were slave women in ancient Near Eastern societies who were the legal property of their master, but who could have legitimate sexual relations with their master. A concubine’s status was more elevated than a mere servant, but she was not free and did not have the legal rights of a free wife. The children of a concubine could, in some instances, become equal heirs with the children of the free wife. After the period of the Judges concubines may have become more of a royal prerogative (2 Sam 21:10-14; 1 Kgs 11:3).]

²²Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah as the leader over his brothers, for he intended to name him his successor.[#tn Heb “and Rehoboam appointed for a head Abijah son of Maacah for ruler among his brothers, indeed to make him king.”]

²³He wisely placed some of his many sons throughout the regions of Judah and Benjamin in the various fortified cities. He supplied them with abundant provisions and acquired many wives for them.[#tn Heb “and he was discerning and broke up from all his sons to all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, to all the fortified cities.”; #tn “and he asked for a multitude of wives.”]