¹When Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem , he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin , one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors , to fight against Israel , to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam .

²But the LORD ’s word came to Shemaiah the man of God , saying ,

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

⁴‘The LORD says , “You shall not go up , nor fight against your brothers! Every man return to his house ; for this thing is of me .”’” So they listened to the LORD ’s words , and returned from going against Jeroboam .

⁵Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem , and built cities for defence in Judah .

⁶He built Bethlehem , Etam , Tekoa ,

⁷Beth Zur, Soco , Adullam ,

⁸Gath , Mareshah , Ziph ,

⁹Adoraim, Lachish , Azekah ,

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

¹¹He fortified the strongholds and put captains in them with stores of food , oil and wine .

¹²He put shields and spears in every city , and made them exceedingly strong . Judah and Benjamin belonged to him .

¹³The priests and the Levites who were in all Israel stood with him out of all their territory .

¹⁴For the Levites left their pasture lands and their possessions, and came to Judah and Jerusalem ; for Jeroboam and his sons cast them off , that they should not execute the priest ’s office to the LORD .

¹⁵He himself appointed priests for the high places , for the male goat and calf idols which he had made .

¹⁶After them , out of all the tribes of Israel , those who set their hearts to seek the LORD , the God of Israel , came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD , the God of their fathers.

¹⁷So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong for three years , for they walked three years in the way of David and Solomon .

¹⁸Rehoboam took a wife for himself, Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse .

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

²⁰After her , he took Maacah the granddaughter of Absalom; and she bore him Abijah, Attai , Ziza , and Shelomith .

²¹Rehoboam loved Maacah the granddaughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines ; for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines , and became the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters .

²²Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah to be chief , the prince amongst his brothers , for he intended to make him king .

²³He dealt wisely, and dispersed some of his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin , to every fortified city . He gave them food in abundance ; and he sought many wives for them .