2 Chronicles 11
New King James Version
Rehoboam’s Reign in Judah
11 Now (A)when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled from the house of Judah and Benjamin one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.
2 But the word of the Lord came (B)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 the Lord: “You shall not go up or fight against your brethren! Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.” ’ ” Therefore they obeyed the words of the Lord, and turned back from attacking Jeroboam.
Rehoboam Fortifies the Cities
5 So Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense in Judah. 6 And he built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth Zur, Sochoh, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and Benjamin, fortified cities. 11 And he fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine. 12 Also in every city he put shields and spears, and made them very strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side.
Priests and Levites Move to Judah(C)
13 And from all their territories the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with him. 14 For the Levites left (D)their common-lands and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for (E)Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to the Lord. 15 (F)Then he appointed for himself priests for the [a]high places, for (G)the demons, and (H)the calf idols which he had made. 16 (I)And [b]after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the Lord God of Israel, (J)came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers. 17 So they (K)strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong for three years, because they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.
The Family of Rehoboam
18 Then Rehoboam took for himself as wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of (L)Eliah the son of Jesse. 19 And she bore him children: Jeush, Shamariah, and Zaham. 20 After her he took (M)Maachah the [c]granddaughter of (N)Absalom; and she bore him (O)Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 Now Rehoboam loved Maachah the granddaughter of Absalom more than all his (P)wives and his concubines; for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and begot twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. 22 And Rehoboam (Q)appointed (R)Abijah the son of Maachah as chief, to be leader among his brothers; for he intended to make him king. 23 He dealt wisely, and [d]dispersed some of his sons throughout all the territories of Judah and Benjamin, to every (S)fortified city; and he gave them provisions in abundance. He also sought many wives for them.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 11:15 Places for pagan worship
- 2 Chronicles 11:16 Lit. after them
- 2 Chronicles 11:20 Lit. daughter, but in the broader sense of granddaughter
- 2 Chronicles 11:23 distributed
2 Chronicles 11
Expanded Bible
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 [L this 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 [L high places; C worship 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 [L set 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 [L walked 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 [T bore] Rehoboam these sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 Then Rehoboam married Absalom’s daughter Maacah, and she ·gave [T bore] Rehoboam these children: Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 Rehoboam loved Maacah more than his other wives and ·slave women [concubines; C secondary 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; C crown prince] of his own brothers, because he planned to make Abijah king [C his successor]. 23 Rehoboam acted wisely. He spread his sons through all the areas of Judah and Benjamin [C both 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.
2 Chronicles 11
English Standard Version
Rehoboam Secures His Kingdom
11 (A)When Rehoboam came 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: 3 “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, 4 ‘Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against (C)your relatives. Return every man to his home, for this thing is from me.’” So they listened to the word of the Lord and returned and did not go against Jeroboam.
5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and he built (D)cities for defense in Judah. 6 He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, 8 Gath, (E)Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, fortified cities that are in Judah and in Benjamin. 11 He made the fortresses strong, and put commanders in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine. 12 And he put shields and spears in all the cities and made them very strong. So he held Judah and Benjamin.
Priests and Levites Come to Jerusalem
13 And the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel presented themselves to him from all places where they lived. 14 For the Levites left (F)their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, (G)because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the Lord, 15 and he appointed his own (H)priests for the high places and for the goat idols and for (I)the calves that he had made. 16 (J)And those who had set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel came after them from all the tribes of Israel to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their fathers. 17 (K)They strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they made Rehoboam the son of Solomon secure, for they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.
Rehoboam's Family
18 Rehoboam took as wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of (L)Eliab the son of Jesse, 19 and she bore him sons, Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 After her he took (M)Maacah the daughter of Absalom, who bore him (N)Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and concubines (he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters). 22 (O)And Rehoboam appointed (P)Abijah the son of Maacah as chief prince among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. 23 And he dealt wisely and distributed some of his sons through all the districts of Judah and Benjamin, in all the fortified cities, and he gave them abundant provisions and procured wives for them.[a]
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 11:23 Hebrew and sought a multitude of wives
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
