11 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he ·gathered [summoned; mobilized; mustered] one hundred eighty thousand ·of the best [skilled; select] ·soldiers [warriors] from Judah and Benjamin. He wanted to fight Israel to ·take back [restore] his kingdom. ² But the Lord spoke his word to Shemaiah, a man of God, saying, ³ “Speak to Solomon’s son Rehoboam, the king of Judah, and to all the Israelites living in Judah and Benjamin. Say to them, ⁴ ‘The Lord says you must not ·go to war against your brothers [fight against your relatives/kinsmen]. Every one of you should go home, because ·I made all these things happen [^Lthis thing is from me].’” So they ·obeyed [listened to; heeded] the Lord’s ·command [words] and turned back and did not attack Jeroboam.

Rehoboam Makes Judah Strong

⁵ Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built ·strong [fortified] cities in Judah for defense. ⁶ He built up the cities of Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These were ·strong, walled [fortified] cities in Judah and Benjamin. ¹¹ When Rehoboam ·made those cities strong [strengthened the fortresses/their defenses], he put ·commanders [officers] and ·supplies [stores] of food, oil, and wine in them. ¹² Also, Rehoboam put shields and spears in all the cities and made them very strong. Rehoboam kept the people of Judah and Benjamin under his control.

¹³ The priests and the Levites from all over Israel ·joined [stood/sided with] Rehoboam. ¹⁴ The Levites even ·left [abandoned] their pasturelands and property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons ·refused to let them serve [rejected/excluded them from serving] as priests to the Lord. ¹⁵ Jeroboam ·chose [appointed] his own priests for the ·places of worship [^Lhigh places; ^Cworship sites associated with pagan worship or inappropriate worship of God] and for the ·goat [goat-demon; satyr] and calf idols he had made. ¹⁶ There were people from all the tribes of Israel who ·wanted to obey [^Lset their hearts to seek] the Lord, the God of Israel. So they went to Jerusalem with the Levites to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their ·ancestors [fathers]. ¹⁷ These people made the kingdom of Judah strong, and they supported Solomon’s son Rehoboam for three years. During this time they ·lived [^Lwalked in] the way ·David and Solomon had lived [of David and Solomon].

Rehoboam’s Family

¹⁸ Rehoboam married Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth and Abihail. Jerimoth was David’s son, and Abihail was the daughter of Eliab, Jesse’s son. ¹⁹ Mahalath ·gave [^Tbore] Rehoboam these sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. ²⁰ Then Rehoboam married Absalom’s daughter Maacah, and she ·gave [^Tbore] Rehoboam these children: Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Maacah more than his other wives and ·slave women [concubines; ^Csecondary wives]. Rehoboam had eighteen wives and sixty ·slave women [concubines] and was the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

²² Rehoboam ·chose [appointed] Abijah son of Maacah to be ·the leader [head; ^Ccrown prince] of his own brothers, because he planned to make Abijah king [^Chis successor]. ²³ Rehoboam acted wisely. He spread his sons through all the areas of Judah and Benjamin [^Cboth giving them responsibilities and dispersing/diluting their power], sending them to every ·strong, walled [fortified] city. He gave plenty of supplies to his sons, and he also ·found wives [sought/acquired many wives] for them.