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2 Chronicles 11
Legacy Standard Bible
2 Chronicles 11
Legacy Standard Bible
Rehoboam Builds Cities for Fortification
11 (A)Then Rehoboam came to Jerusalem and assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen men who could wage war, to fight against Israel to return the kingdom to Rehoboam. 2 But the word of Yahweh came to (B)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 Yahweh, “You shall not go up and fight against (C)your brothers; return every man to his house, (D)for this thing is from Me.”’” So they listened to the words of Yahweh and returned from going against Jeroboam.
5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and (E)built cities for fortifications in Judah. 6 Thus 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 in Benjamin. 11 He also strengthened the fortresses and put officers in them and stores of food, oil and wine. 12 And he put large 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 took their stand with him from all their territories.
Jeroboam Sets Up His Own Priests
14 For (F)the Levites left their pasture lands and their possession of land and went to Judah and Jerusalem, for (G)Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from ministering as priests to Yahweh— 15 (H)And he set up priests of his own for the high places, for the goat demons and for the calves which he had made— 16 (I)Now those from all the tribes of Israel who gave their hearts to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, [a]followed them to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to Yahweh, the God of their fathers. 17 (J)They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and gave courage to 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 took as a wife 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 him sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 And after her he took (L)Maacah the daughter of [b]Absalom, and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 And 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 became the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. 22 (N)And Rehoboam set up Abijah the son of Maacah to be head and ruler among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. 23 And he acted with discernment and distributed [c]some of his sons through all the lands of Judah and Benjamin to all the fortified cities, and he gave them sustenance in abundance. And he sought a multitude of wives for them.
Footnotes
- 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
New King James Version
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
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
2 Chronicles 11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 11
1 (A)On his arrival in Jerusalem, Rehoboam assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin—one hundred and eighty thousand elite warriors—to wage war against Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. 2 However, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, a man of God: 3 Say to Rehoboam, son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin: 4 “Thus says the Lord: You must not go out to war against your kinsmen. Return home, each of you, for it is I who have brought this about.” They obeyed the word of the Lord and turned back from going against Jeroboam.
Rehoboam’s Works.[a] 5 Rehoboam took up residence in Jerusalem and built fortified cities in Judah. 6 He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron; these were fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin. 11 Then he strengthened the fortifications and put commanders in them, along with supplies of food, oil, and wine. 12 In every city were shields and spears, and he made them very strong. Thus Judah and Benjamin remained his.
Refugees from the North. 13 Now the priests and Levites throughout Israel presented themselves to him from all parts of their land, 14 for the Levites left their assigned pasture lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons rejected them as priests of the Lord.(B) 15 In their place, he himself appointed priests for the high places as well as for the satyrs and calves he had made.(C) 16 After them, all those, of every tribe of Israel, who set their hearts to seek the Lord, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 17 Thus they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and made Rehoboam, son of Solomon, prevail for three years; for they walked in the way of David and Solomon three years.
Rehoboam’s Family. 18 Rehoboam married Mahalath, daughter of Jerimoth, son of David and of Abihail, daughter of Eliab, son of Jesse. 19 She bore him sons: Jehush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 After her, he married Maacah, daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah,(D) Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 Rehoboam loved Maacah, daughter of Absalom, more than all his other wives and concubines; he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. 22 Rehoboam put Abijah, son of Maacah, first among his brothers, as leader, for he intended to make him king. 23 He acted prudently, distributing his various sons throughout all the districts of Judah and Benjamin, in all the fortified cities; and he gave them generous provisions and sought an abundance of wives for them.
Footnotes
- 11:5–12 These verses have no parallel in 1 Kings; they are apparently based on a separate source.
2 Chronicles 11
New International Version
2 Chronicles 11
New International Version
11 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem,(A) he mustered Judah and Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam.
2 But this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah(B) the man of God: 3 “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, 4 ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your fellow Israelites.(C) Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the words of the Lord and turned back from marching against Jeroboam.
Rehoboam Fortifies Judah
5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built up towns for defense in Judah: 6 Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth Zur, Soko, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. These were fortified cities(D) in Judah and Benjamin. 11 He strengthened their defenses and put commanders in them, with supplies of food, olive oil and wine. 12 He put shields and spears in all the cities, and made them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were his.
13 The priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him. 14 The Levites(E) even abandoned their pasturelands and property(F) and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the Lord 15 when he appointed(G) his own priests(H) for the high places and for the goat(I) and calf(J) idols he had made. 16 Those from every tribe of Israel(K) who set their hearts on seeking the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 17 They strengthened(L) the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon three years, following the ways of David and Solomon during this time.
Rehoboam’s Family
18 Rehoboam married Mahalath, who was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab. 19 She bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham. 20 Then he married Maakah(M) daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah,(N) Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. 21 Rehoboam loved Maakah daughter of Absalom more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives(O) and sixty concubines, twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
22 Rehoboam appointed Abijah(P) son of Maakah as crown prince among his brothers, in order to make him king. 23 He acted wisely, dispersing some of his sons throughout the districts of Judah and Benjamin, and to all the fortified cities. He gave them abundant provisions(Q) and took many wives for them.
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