Rehoboam Builds Cities for Fortification

1Then 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. 2But the word of Yahweh came 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 Yahweh, “You shall not go up and fight against your brothers; return every man to his house, for this thing is from Me.”’” So they listened to the words of Yahweh and returned from going against Jeroboam.

5Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built cities for fortifications in Judah. 6Thus he built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, 8Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron, which are fortified cities in Judah and in Benjamin. 11He also strengthened the fortresses and put officers in them and stores of food, oil and wine. 12And he put large shields and spears in every city and strengthened them greatly. So he held Judah and Benjamin.

13Moreover, 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

14For the Levites left their pasture lands and their possession of land and went to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from ministering as priests to Yahweh— 15And he set up priests of his own for the high places, for the goat demons and for the calves which he had made— 16Now those from all the tribes of Israel who gave their hearts to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, [†]followed them to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to Yahweh, the God of their fathers. 17They 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

18Then Rehoboam took as a wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse, 19and she bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20And after her he took Maacah the daughter of [†]Absalom, and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 21And Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom more than all his other wives and concubines. For he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines and became the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. 22And Rehoboam set up Abijah the son of Maacah to be head and ruler among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. 23And he acted with discernment and distributed [†]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.