2 ChroniclesChapter 11

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¹Rehoboam came to Jerusalem. He called together the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen fighting men. They were to fight against Israel and win the kingdom back for Rehoboam. ²But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God. He said, ³"Speak to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah. Speak to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin. ⁴Tell them this is what the LORD says: 'Do not go up and fight against your brothers. Every one of you must go home, for I have made this happen.'" So they obeyed the words of the LORD. They turned back and did not go against Jeroboam. ⁵Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem. He built up cities in Judah to defend the land. ⁶He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, ⁸Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These were the strong cities in Judah and Benjamin. ¹¹He made their defenses strong and put officers in them. He stored food, oil, and wine there. ¹²He also put shields and spears in all the cities and made them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin belonged to him. ¹³The priests and Levites from all their areas in Israel also took Rehoboam's side. ¹⁴The Levites left their pasturelands and their property. They went to Judah and Jerusalem. This was because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the LORD. ¹⁵Jeroboam chose his own priests for the high places. They served the goat demons and the calf idols he had made. ¹⁶Some people from every tribe of Israel had set their hearts to seek the LORD their God. They followed the Levites to Jerusalem. There they offered sacrifices to the LORD, the God of their fathers. ¹⁷So they made the kingdom of Judah strong. They supported Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years, because for three years they followed the ways of David and Solomon. ¹⁸Rehoboam married Mahalath. She was the daughter of Jerimoth, David's son. Her mother was Abihail, daughter of Eliab, Jesse's son. ¹⁹She had sons by him: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. ²⁰After her, he married Maacah daughter of Absalom. She had these children by him: Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than all his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines. He had twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. ²²Rehoboam made Abijah son of Maacah the chief prince among his brothers. He planned to make him king. ²³Rehoboam also acted wisely. He sent some of his sons out to all the areas of Judah and Benjamin and to all the strong cities. He gave them plenty of supplies and found many wives for them.