2 Chronicles
Chapter 11
1 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he assembled 180,000 skilled soldiers from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to battle against Israel and take back his kingdom.
2 God’s message came to Shemaiah, God’s man, saying,
3 Tell Rehoboam, Solomon’s son and king of Judah, and all the people in Judah and Benjamin, this message:
4 God says, “Do not go up to fight against your relatives. Everyone go back home, because I made this happen.” And they listened to what God said and stopped their advance against Jeroboam.
5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built cities for protection in Judah.
6 He built Bethlehem, Etam, and Tekoa.
7 Bethzur, Shoco, and Adullam.
8 Gath, Mareshah, and Ziph,
9 Adoraim, Lachish, and Azekah,
10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and Benjamin, are fortified cities.
11 He strengthened the fortresses, placed leaders there, and stocked them with food, oil, and wine.
12 In each city he placed shields and spears, making them very strong with Judah and Benjamin supporting him.
13 The priests and Levites from all over Israel came to join him.
14 The Levites left their lands and property, and went to Judah and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his sons stopped them from serving as priests for God.
15 He appointed priests for the high places, for the demons, and for the statues of calves he made.
16 After them, people from all Israel’s tribes who decided to seek God went to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the God of their ancestors.
17 They made the kingdom of Judah stronger and made Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, strong for three years: for three years they followed the ways of David and Solomon.
18 Rehoboam married Mahalath, Jerimoth’s daughter and David’s granddaughter, and Abihail, Eliab’s daughter and Jesse’s granddaughter.
19 She had sons with him; Jeush, Shamariah, and Zaham.
20 After her, he married Maachah, Absalom’s daughter, who gave birth to Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith for him.
21 Rehoboam loved Maachah, Absalom’s daughter, more than all his other wives and concubines. He had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
22 Rehoboam appointed Abijah, Maachah’s son, as the leader over his brothers because he planned to make him king.
23 He acted wisely, spreading his children across the lands of Judah and Benjamin to every protected city, providing them with plenty of food. And he wanted many wives.