2 Chronicles 11
American Standard Version
11 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, that were warriors, to fight against Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam. 2 But the word of Jehovah came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 3 Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying, 4 Thus saith Jehovah, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house; for this thing is of me. So they hearkened unto the words of Jehovah, and returned from going against Jeroboam.
5 And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah. 6 He built Beth-lehem, and Etam, and Tekoa, 7 And Beth-zur, and Soco, and Adullam, 8 and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph, 9 and Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah, 10 and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities. 11 And he fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of victuals, and oil and wine. 12 And in every city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong. And Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.
13 And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their border. 14 For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons cast them off, that they should not execute the priest’s office unto Jehovah; 15 and he appointed him priests for the high places, and for the he-goats, and for the calves which he had made. 16 And after them, out of all the tribes of Israel, such as set their hearts to seek Jehovah, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice unto Jehovah, the God of their fathers. 17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years; for they walked three years in the way of David and Solomon.
18 And Rehoboam took him a wife, Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, [a]and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse; 19 and she bare him sons: Jeush, and Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 And after her he took [b]Maacah the daughter of Absalom; and she bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 And Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines, and begat twenty and eight sons and threescore daughters). 22 And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah to be chief, even the prince among his brethren; for he was minded to make him king. 23 And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fortified city: and he gave them victuals in abundance. And he [c]sought for them many wives.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 11:18 Or, and Abihail
- 2 Chronicles 11:20 In 13:2, Micaiah the daughter of Uriel.
- 2 Chronicles 11:23 Or, sought a multitude of wives
2 Chronicles 11
New American Standard Bible
Rehoboam Reigns over Judah and Builds Cities
11 (A)Now when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. 2 But the word of the Lord came to (B)Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 3 “Tell Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying, 4 ‘This is what the Lord says: “You shall not go up nor fight against (C)your relatives; return, every man, to his house, (D)for this [a]event is from Me.”’” So they listened to the words of the Lord and returned from going against Jeroboam.
5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and (E)built cities for defense in Judah. 6 He built Bethlehem, 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 Benjamin. 11 He also strengthened the fortresses and put officers in them and supplies of food, oil, and wine. 12 He put shields and spears in every city and strengthened them greatly. So he held Judah and Benjamin.
13 Moreover, the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel also stood with him from all their districts.
Jeroboam Appoints False Priests
14 For (F)the Levites left their pasture lands and their property and went to Judah and Jerusalem, because (G)Jeroboam and his sons had excluded them from serving as priests to the Lord. 15 (H)He set up priests of his own for the high places, for the satyrs and the calves which he had made. 16 (I)Those from all the tribes of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord God of Israel [b]followed them to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers. 17 (J)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.
Rehoboam’s Family
18 Then Rehoboam married Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David and of Abihail the daughter of (K)Eliab the son of Jesse, 19 and she bore to him sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 After her he married (L)Maacah the daughter of [c]Absalom, and she bore to him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom more than all his other wives and concubines. For (M)he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. 22 (N)Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah as head and leader among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. 23 He acted wisely and distributed [d]some of his sons through all the territories of Judah and Benjamin to all the fortified cities, and he gave them plenty of provisions. And he sought many wives for them.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 11:4 Lit thing
- 2 Chronicles 11:16 Lit came after
- 2 Chronicles 11:20 In 1 Kin 15:2, Abishalom
- 2 Chronicles 11:23 Lit from all
2 Chronicles 11
The Message
11 When Rehoboam got back to Jerusalem he called up the men of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 of their best soldiers, to go to war against Israel and recover the kingdom.
2-4 At the same time the word of God came to Shemaiah, a holy man, “Tell this to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, along with all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin, This is God’s word: Don’t march out; don’t fight against your brothers the Israelites. Go back home, every last one of you; I’m in charge here.” And they did it; they did what God said and went home.
5-12 Rehoboam continued to live in Jerusalem but built up a defense system for Judah all around: in Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam, Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron—a line of defense protecting Judah and Benjamin. He beefed up the fortifications, appointed commanders, and put in supplies of food, olive oil, and wine. He installed arms—large shields and spears—in all the forts, making them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were secure for the time.
13-17 The priests and Levites from all over Israel came and made themselves available to Rehoboam. The Levites left their pastures and properties and moved to Judah and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his sons had dismissed them from the priesthood of God and replaced them with his own priests to preside over the worship centers at which he had installed goat and calf demon-idols. Everyone from all the tribes of Israel who determined to seek the God of Israel migrated with the priests and Levites to Jerusalem to worship there, sacrificing to the God of their ancestors. That gave a tremendous boost to the kingdom of Judah. They stuck with Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years, loyal to the ways of David and Solomon for this period.
18-21 Rehoboam married Mahalath daughter of Jerimoth, David’s son, and Abihail daughter of Eliab, Jesse’s son. Mahalath bore him Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. Then he married Maacah, Absalom’s daughter, and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. Maacah was Rehoboam’s favorite wife; he loved her more than all his other wives and concubines put together (and he had a lot—eighteen wives and sixty concubines who produced twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters!).
22-23 Rehoboam designated Abijah son of Maacah as the “first son” and leader of the brothers—he intended to make him the next king. He was shrewd in deploying his sons in all the fortress cities that made up his defense system in Judah and Benjamin; he kept them happy with much food and many wives.
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