¹⁶ “As for you, son of man, ^(A)take a stick for yourself and write on it: ‘For Judah and for ^(B)the children of Israel, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’

⁹ Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and ^(A)those who dwelt with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to him in great numbers from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

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

¹⁷ But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.

² “Speak to the children of Israel, and get from them a rod from each father’s house, all their leaders according to their fathers’ houses—twelve rods. Write each man’s name on his rod. ³ And you shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi. For there shall be one rod for the head of each father’s house.

¹⁶ Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying:

So Israel departed to their tents. ¹⁷ But Rehoboam reigned over ^(B)the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.

¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam ^(C)sent Adoram, who was in charge of the revenue; but all Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ So ^(D)Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

²⁰ Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all ^(E)Israel. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah ^(F)only.

¹¹ Nevertheless ^(A)some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. ¹² Also ^(B)the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, ^(C)at the word of the Lord.

¹³ Now many people, a very great assembly, gathered at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of ^(D)Unleavened Bread in the second month. ¹⁴ They arose and took away the ^(E)altars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away all the incense altars and cast them into the Brook ^(F)Kidron. ¹⁵ Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites ^[a]were ^(G)ashamed, and ^[b]sanctified themselves, and brought the burnt offerings to the house of the Lord. ¹⁶ They stood in their ^(H)place ^[c]according to their custom, according to the Law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood received from the hand of the Levites. ¹⁷ For there were many in the assembly who had not ^[d]sanctified themselves; ^(I)therefore the Levites had charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them to the Lord. ¹⁸ For a multitude of the people, ^(J)many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, ^(K)yet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord provide atonement for everyone

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^(A)

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 ^(B)their common-lands and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for ^(C)Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to the Lord. ^15 (D)Then he appointed for himself priests for the ^[a]high places, for ^(E)the demons, and ^(F)the calf idols which he had made. ^16 (G)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, ^(H)came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers. ¹⁷ So they ^(I)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.