Dual Panel1When Rehoboam reached Jerusalem, he mustered the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen warriors, to fight against Israel and recover his kingdom.
2But 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 the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin,
4This is the word of the LORD: You are not to go up to make war on your kinsmen. Return to your homes, for this is my doing.” They listened to the word of the LORD and abandoned their campaign against Jeroboam.
5Rehoboam resided in Jerusalem and built up the defences of certain towns in Judah.
6The towns in Judah and Benjamin which he fortified were Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
7Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam,
8Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,
9Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,
10Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron.
11He strengthened the defences of these fortified towns, and put governors in them, as well as supplies of food, oil, and wine.
12Also he stored shields and spears in each of them, and made them very strong. Thus he retained possession of Judah and Benjamin.
13The priests and the Levites throughout the whole of Israel resorted to Rehoboam from all their territories;
14for the Levites had left all their common land and their own property and had gone to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his successors rejected their services as priests of the LORD,
15and he appointed his own priests for the shrines, for the demons, and for the calves which he had made.
16Out of all the tribes of Israel, those who were resolved to seek the LORD the God of Israel followed the Levites to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD the God of their fathers.
17They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and for three years made Rehoboam son of Solomon secure, because he followed the example of David and Solomon during that time.
18Rehoboam married Mahalath, whose father was Jerimoth son of David and whose mother was Abihail daughter of Eliab son of Jesse.
19His sons by her were: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
20Next he married Maacah granddaughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
21Of all his wives and concubines, Rehoboam loved Maacah most; he had in all eighteen wives and sixty concubines and became the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
22He appointed Abijah son of Maacah chief among his brothers, making him crown prince and planning to make him his successor on the throne.
23He showed prudence in detailing his sons to take charge of all the fortified towns throughout the whole territory of Judah and Benjamin; he also made generous provision for them and obtained wives for them.