1 And when Rehoboam was come to Ierusalem, he gathered of the house of Iudah and Beniamin nine score thousande chosen men of warre to fight against Israel, and to bring the kingdome againe to Rehoboam. 2 But the worde of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 3 Speake vnto Rehoboam, the sonne of Salomon King of Iudah, and to all Israel that are in Iudah, and Beniamin, saying, 4 Thus sayth the Lord, Ye shall not goe vp, nor fight against your brethren: returne euery man to his house: for this thing is done of me. They obeyed therfore the word of the Lord, and returned from going against Ieroboam. 5 And Rehoboam dwelt in Ierusalem, and buylt strong cities in Iudah. 6 Hee buylt also Beth-lehem, and Etam, and Tekoa, 7 And Beth-zur, and Shoco, and Adullam, 8 And Gath, and Maresha, and Ziph, 9 And Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah, 10 And Zorah, and Aialon, and Hebron, which were in Iudah and Beniamin, strong cities. 11 And he repaired the strong holdes and put captaines in them, and store of vitaile, and oyle and wine. 12 And in all cities he put shieldes and speares, and made them exceeding strong: so Iudah and Beniamin were his. 13 And the Priests and the Leuites that were in all Israel, resorted vnto him out of all their coastes. 14 For the Leuites left their suburbes and their possession, and came to Iudah and to Ierusalem: for Ieroboam and his sonnes had cast them out from ministring in the Priestes office vnto the Lord. 15 And he ordeyned him Priests for the hie places, and for the deuils and for the calues which he had made. 16 And after the Leuites there came to Ierusalem of all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heartes to seeke the Lord God of Israel, to offer vnto the Lord God of their fathers. 17 So they strengthened the kingdome of Iudah, and made Rehoboam the sonne of Salomon mightie, three yeere long: for three yeere they walked in in the way of Dauid and Salomon. 18 And Rehoboam tooke him Mahalath ye daughter of Ierimoth the sonne of Dauid to wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the sonne of Ishai, 19 Which bare him sonnes Ieush, and Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 And after her he tooke Maakah ye daughter of Absalom which bare him Abiiah, and Atthai, and Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 And Rehoboam loued Maakah ye daughter of Absalom aboue all his wiues and his concubines: for he tooke eighteene wiues, and three score concubines, and begate eyght and twentie sonnes, and three score daughters. 22 And Rehoboam made Abiiah the sonne of Maakah the chiefe ruler among his brethren: for he thought to make him King. 23 And he taught him: and dispersed all his sonnes throughout all the countreis of Iudah and Beniamin vnto euery strong citie: and hee gaue them aboundance of vitaile, and desired many wiues.
Shemaiah's Prophecy
(1 Kings 12.21-24)1 When King Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he called together 180,000 of the best soldiers from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah. He intended to go to war and restore his control over the northern tribes of Israel. 2 But the Lord told the prophet Shemaiah 3 to give this message to King Rehoboam and to all the people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin: 4 “Do not attack your own relatives. Go home, all of you. What has happened is my will.” They obeyed the Lord's command and did not go to fight Jeroboam.
Rehoboam Fortifies the Cities
5 Rehoboam remained in Jerusalem and had fortifications built for the following cities of Judah and Benjamin: 6 Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Bethzur, Soco, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. 11 He had them strongly fortified and appointed a commander for each of them, and in each one he placed supplies of food, olive oil, and wine, 12 and also shields and spears. In this way he kept Judah and Benjamin under his control.
Priests and Levites Come to Judah
13 From all the territory of Israel priests and Levites came south to Judah. 14 The Levites abandoned their pastures and other land and moved to Judah and Jerusalem, because King Jeroboam of Israel and his successors would not let them serve as priests of the Lord. 15 Jeroboam appointed priests of his own to serve at the pagan places of worship and to worship demons and the idols he made in the form of bull-calves. 16 From all the tribes of Israel people who sincerely wanted to worship the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem, so that they could offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 17 This strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they supported Rehoboam son of Solomon and lived as they had under the rule of King David and King Solomon.
Rehoboam's Family
18 Rehoboam married Mahalath, whose father was Jerimoth son of David and whose mother was Abihail, the daughter of Eliab and granddaughter of Jesse. 19 They had three sons, Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 Later he married Maacah, the daughter of Absalom, and they had four sons: Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 In all, Rehoboam had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. Of all his wives and concubines he loved Maacah best, 22 and he favored her son Abijah over all his other children, choosing him as the one to succeed him as king. 23 Rehoboam wisely assigned responsibilities to his sons and stationed them throughout Judah and Benjamin in the fortified cities. He provided generously for them and also secured many wives for them.