^16 (A)“Son of man, ^(B)take a stick^[a] and write on it, ‘For ^(C)Judah, and ^(D)the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For ^(E)Joseph (the stick of ^(F)Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’

⁹ And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, ^(A)and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

¹⁹ So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

¹⁷ But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah.

^2 (A)“Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers' house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. Write each man's name on his staff, ³ and write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers' house.

The Kingdom Divided

¹⁶ And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. ^(A)To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. ¹⁷ But Rehoboam reigned over ^(B)the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. ¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent ^(C)Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. ^19 (D)So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. ²⁰ And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but ^(E)the tribe of Judah only.

¹¹ However, ^(A)some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. ¹² The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded ^(B)by the word of the Lord.

¹³ And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread ^(C)in the second month, a very great assembly. ¹⁴ They set to work and removed ^(D)the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away ^(E)and threw into the brook Kidron. ^15 (F)And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. ^(G)And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, ^(H)so that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. ^16 (I)They took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses ^(J)the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. ¹⁷ For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the Lord. ¹⁸ For a majority of the people, ^(K)many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise ^(L)than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone

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 ^(A)their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, ^(B)because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the Lord, ¹⁵ and he appointed his own ^(C)priests for the high places and for the goat idols and for ^(D)the calves that he had made. ^16 (E)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 (F)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.