11 Now when Rehoboam arrived at Jerusalem, he assembled the House of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen men who were warriors, to fight against Israel in order to restore the kingdom back to Rehoboam.

² But the word of Adonai 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 ‘Thus says Adonai, You shall not go up nor fight against your kinsmen. Let everyone return to his house for this matter is of Me.’” So they listened to the words of Adonai and returned from marching against Jeroboam.

Reign of Rehoboam

⁵ Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built fortified cities for defense in Judah.

⁶ He built up Beth-lehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron, which are fortified cities in Judah and in Benjamin. ¹¹ He also strengthened the fortified towns and put commanders in them, along with stores of food, oil and wine. ¹² He also put shields and spears in every town, and made them very strong. So he held Judah and Benjamin.

¹³ Moreover, the kohanim and the Levites from all their territories throughout Israel presented themselves to him. ¹⁴ The Levites even abandoned their pastures and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as kohanim to Adonai, ¹⁵ and had appointed his own priests for the high places, for the he-goats and for the calves that he had made. ¹⁶ Those from all the tribes of Israel, who had set their hearts to seek Adonai, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Adonai, the God of their fathers. ¹⁷ So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam the son of Solomon for three years, for they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.

¹⁸ Rehoboam married Mahalat the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse. ¹⁹ She bore him sons: Jeush and Shemariah and Zaham. ²⁰ After her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. ²¹ Now Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines—for he took 18 wives and 60 concubines and fathered 28 sons and 60 daughters.

²² Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah as chief and commander among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. ²³ He also wisely dispersed some of his sons throughout the territories of Judah and Benjamin to all the fortified cities and he gave them plenty of food and sought many wives for them.

Shishak Attacks Jerusalem

12 Now it came to pass, when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and he had become strong, that he and all Israel with him forsook the Torah of Adonai. ² It so happened that in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, King Shishak of Egypt marched against Jerusalem—because they had been unfaithful to Adonai— ³ with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen and innumerable troops that came with him from Egypt: Lybians, Sukkites and Cushites. ⁴ He captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

⁵ Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the officers of Judah who had gathered in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says Adonai:

‘You have abandoned Me—

so I also have abandoned you

into the hand of Shishak.’”

⁶ Then the officers of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “Adonai is just.”

⁷ But when Adonai saw that they humbled themselves, the word of Adonai came to Shemaiah saying: “Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but grant them some measure of deliverance, and My wrath will not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. ⁸ However, they will become subjects to him so that they may learn the difference between serving Me and serving the kings of the earth.”

⁹ So Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took away the treasures of the House of Adonai and the treasures of the king’s palace. He took away everything; he even took away the golden shields that Solomon had made. ¹⁰ So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and entrusted them to the hands of the captains of the royal guard that guarded the entrance to the royal palace. ¹¹ Whenever the king entered into the House of Adonai, the guards would carry them and then bring them back into the guard chamber. ¹² Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the anger of Adonai turned from him and He did not destroy him completely. Indeed there were good things in Judah.

¹³ So King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned as king. Rehoboam was 41 years old when he began to reign and he reigned 17 years in Jerusalem—the city that Adonai had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put His Name there. His mother’s name was Naamah, the Ammonite. ¹⁴ But he did evil because he had not set his heart to seek Adonai.

¹⁵ Now the acts of Rehoboam, from beginning to end, are they not written in the chronicles of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer for genealogies? There were continuous wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. ¹⁶ Then Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. Then his son Abijah became king in his place.

Abijah’s Bold Speech

13 In the 18 th year of King Jeroboam, Abijah began to reign over Judah. ² He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Micaiah, the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Abijah went into battle with an army of valiant warriors, 400,000 chosen men, while Jeroboam arranged for battle against him 800,000 chosen men, mighty warriors.

⁴ Abijah stood on top of Mount Zemaraim, which is a hill of Ephraim, and said, “Listen to me Jeroboam and all Israel! ⁵ Don’t you know that Adonai, God of Israel, has given kingship over Israel to David forever—to him and his sons by a covenant of salt? ⁶ Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master. ⁷ Riffraff and scoundrels gathered around him and pressed hard on Rehoboam son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted and could not stand up to them.

⁸ “So now, do you intend to oppose the kingdom of Adonai, which is in the hand of David’s descendants? Are you indeed a great multitude—and with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods? ⁹ Have you not banished the kohanim of Adonai, the sons of Aaron, as well as the Levites, and then appointed your own priests—just as the peoples of the lands do? Can whoever comes to consecrate himself with a bull from a young cow and seven rams become a priest—for gods of nothing?

¹⁰ “But as for us, Adonai is our God! And we have not forsaken Him. We have the sons of Aaron ministering as kohanim to Adonai and the Levites in their work. ¹¹ Every morning and evening they burn to Adonai burnt offerings and sweet incense. They set the rows of bread on the pure table and they light the golden menorah with its lamps burning every evening—for we keep the service of Adonai Eloheinu—but you have forsaken Him. ¹² So look, God is with us at our head, and His kohanim with the signal trumpets to sound an alarm against you. O men of Israel, do not fight against Adonai, the God of your fathers—for you will not succeed!”

¹³ But Jeroboam had commanded the ambush to go around and come from the rear. So while they were in front of Judah, the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴ When Judah turned around, behold, the battle was before and behind them. They cried out to Adonai and the kohanim blew the trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men of Judah raised a battle cry, and as the men of Judah shouted, God struck down Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ Then men of Israel fled before Judah and God delivered them into their hand. ¹⁷ So Abijah and his people defeated them with a great slaughter, and 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain. ¹⁸ Thus men of Israel were subdued at that time, while the children of Judah prevailed—because they relied upon Adonai, the God of their fathers.

¹⁹ Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured towns from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephron with its villages. ²⁰ Jeroboam could not muster strength again in the days of Abijah. Finally Adonai struck him and he died.

²¹ But Abijah grew powerful and took to himself 14 wives and fathered 22 sons and 16 daughters. ²² Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways and his sayings, are written in the chronicles of the prophet Iddo.

²⁶ In the same way, the Ruach helps in our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Ruach Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. ²⁷ And He who searches the hearts^[a] knows the mind of the Ruach, because He intercedes for the kedoshim according to the will of God.

²⁸ Now we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified.

³¹ What then shall we say in view of these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ^{[b] 32} He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ^{[c] 34} Who is the one who condemns? It is Messiah,^[d] who died, and moreover was raised,^[e] and is now at the right hand of God and who also intercedes for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Messiah? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written,

³⁷ But in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.