2 Chronicles 11 | English Standard Version

English Standard Version

Rehoboam Secures His Kingdom

1 When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. (1Ki 12:21) 2 But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God: (2Ch 12:5; 2Ch 12:15) 3 “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, 4 ‘Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives. Return every man to his home, for this thing is from me.’” So they listened to the word of the Lord and returned and did not go against Jeroboam. (2Ch 28:8; 2Ch 28:11) 5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and he built cities for defense in Judah. (2Ch 8:5; 2Ch 11:23; 2Ch 12:4; 2Ch 14:6; 2Ch 17:2; 2Ch 17:19; 2Ch 21:3)

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6 He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, (2Ch 14:9) 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, fortified cities that are in Judah and in Benjamin. 11 He made the fortresses strong, and put commanders in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine. 12 And he put shields and spears in all the cities and made them very strong. So he held Judah and Benjamin.

Priests and Levites Come to Jerusalem

13 And the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel presented themselves to him from all places where they lived. 14 For the Levites left their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the Lord, (Nu 35:2; 2Ch 13:9) 15 and he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat idols and for the calves that he had made. (1Ki 12:28; 1Ki 12:31; 1Ki 13:33) 16 And those who had set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel came after them from all the tribes of Israel to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their fathers. (2Ch 15:9) 17 They strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and for three years they made Rehoboam the son of Solomon secure, for they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon. (2Ch 12:1)

Rehoboam’s Family

18 Rehoboam took as wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse, (1Sa 16:6; 1Sa 17:13; 1Sa 17:28; 1Ch 27:18)

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19 and she bore him sons, Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 After her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. (1Ki 14:31; 1Ki 15:2) 21 Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and concubines (he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters). 22 And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah as chief prince among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. (De 21:15; 2Ch 11:20) 23 And he dealt wisely and distributed some of his sons through all the districts of Judah and Benjamin, in all the fortified cities, and he gave them abundant provisions and procured wives for them.^[1]

New International Version

from Biblica

1 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered Judah and Benjamin – a hundred and eighty thousand able young men – to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam. 2 But this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God: 3 ‘Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, 4 “This is what the Lord says: do not go up to fight against your fellow Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.” ’ So they obeyed the words of the Lord and turned back from marching against Jeroboam.

Rehoboam fortifies Judah

5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built up towns for defence in Judah: 6 Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth Zur, Soko, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. These were fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin. 11 He strengthened their defences and put commanders in them, with supplies of food, olive oil and wine. 12 He put shields and spears in all the cities, and made them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were his. 13 The priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him. 14 The Levites even abandoned their pasture-lands and property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the Lord 15 when he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat and calf idols he had made. 16 Those from every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 17 They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years, following the ways of David and Solomon during this time.

Rehoboam’s family

18 Rehoboam married Mahalath, who was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab. 19 She bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham. 20 Then he married Maakah daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. 21 Rehoboam loved Maakah daughter of Absalom more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. 22 Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maakah as crown prince among his brothers, in order to make him king. 23 He acted wisely, dispersing some of his sons throughout the districts of Judah and Benjamin, and to all the fortified cities. He gave them abundant provisions and took many wives for them.

King James Version

1 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men , which were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam. 2 But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 3 Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying, 4 Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house: for this thing is done of me. And they obeyed the words of the LORD, and returned from going against Jeroboam. 5 And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah. 6 He built even Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa, 7 And Bethzur, and Shoco, and Adullam, 8 And Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph, 9 And Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah, 10 And Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin fenced cities. 11 And he fortified the strong holds, and put captains in them, and store of victual, and of oil and wine. 12 And in every several city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side. 13 And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their coasts. 14 For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest' office unto the LORD: 15 And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made. 16 And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers. 17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon. 18 And Rehoboam took him Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David to wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse; 19 Which bare him children; Jeush, and Shamariah, and Zaham. 20 And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; which bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines; and begat twenty and eight sons, and threescore daughters.) 22 And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the chief, to be ruler among his brethren: for he thought to make him king. 23 And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance. And he desired many wives.

New International Reader’s Version

from Biblica

1 Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem. He brought together 180,000 capable young men from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. He had decided to go to war against Israel. He wanted his fighting men to get the kingdom of Israel back for him. 2 But a message came to Shemaiah from the LORD. Shemaiah was a man of God. The LORD said to him, 3 ‘Speak to Solomon’s son Rehoboam, the king of Judah. Speak to all the people of Israel in Judah and Benjamin. Tell them, 4 “The LORD says, ‘Do not go up to fight against your relatives. I want every one of you to go back home. Things have happened exactly the way I planned them.’ ” ’ So the young men obeyed the LORD’s message. They turned back. They didn’t march out against Jeroboam.

Rehoboam builds up Judah’s towns

5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem. He made Judah more secure by building up its towns. 6 He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth Zur, Soko and Adullam. 8 He also built up Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. All of them were cities in Judah and Benjamin that had high walls around them. 11 Rehoboam made those cities even more secure. He put commanders in them. He gave the cities plenty of food, olive oil and wine. 12 He put shields and spears in all those cities. He made them very strong. So he ruled over Judah and Benjamin. 13 The priests and Levites were on Rehoboam’s side. They came from their territories all over Israel. 14 The Levites even left their grasslands and other property behind. They came to Judah and Jerusalem. That’s because Jeroboam and his sons had refused to accept them as priests of the LORD. 15 Jeroboam had appointed his own priests to serve at the high places. He had made statues of gods that looked like goats and calves. His priests served those gods. 16 Some people from every tribe in Israel followed the Levites to Jerusalem. With all their hearts they wanted to worship the LORD. He is the God of Israel. They came to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to him. He was the God of their people of long ago. 17 All those who came to Jerusalem made the kingdom of Judah strong. They helped Solomon’s son Rehoboam for three years. During that time they lived the way David and Solomon had lived.

Rehoboam’s family

18 Rehoboam married Mahalath. She was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth. Her mother was Abihail. Abihail was the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab. 19 Mahalath had sons by Rehoboam. Their names were Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham. 20 Then Rehoboam married Maakah. She was the daughter of Absalom. She had sons by Rehoboam. Their names were Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. 21 Rehoboam loved Absalom’s daughter Maakah. In fact, he loved her more than any of his other wives and concubines. He had a total of 18 wives and 60 concubines. And he had a total of 28 sons and 60 daughters. 22 Rehoboam appointed Maakah’s son Abijah to be the chief prince among his brothers. He did it because he wanted to make him king. 23 Rehoboam acted wisely. He scattered some of his sons through all the territories of Judah and Benjamin. He put them in all the cities that had high walls around them. He gave them plenty of food and everything else they needed. He also gave them many wives.