1And when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men, who were warriors, to fight against Israel, to bring the kingdom back to Rehoboam. 2But the word of Yehovah came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 3Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying, 4Thus says Yehovah, You shall not go up, nor fight against your brothers: return every man to his house; for this thing is of me. So they listened to the words of Yehovah, and returned from going against Jeroboam. 5And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense in Judah. 6He built Beth-lehem, and Etam, and Tekoa, 7And Beth-zur, and Soco, and Adullam, 8and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph, 9and Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah, 10and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities. 11And he fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of provisions, and oil and wine. 12And in every city he put shields and spears, and made them exceedingly strong. And Judah and Benjamin belonged to him. 13And the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel came to him out of all their territory. 14For the Levites left their pasture lands and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons cast them off, that they should not execute the priest’s office to Yehovah; 15and he appointed for himself priests for the high places, and for the goat idols, and for the calves which he had made. 16And after them, out of all the tribes of Israel, such as set their hearts to seek Yehovah, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Yehovah, the God of their fathers. 17So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years; for they walked three years in the way of David and Solomon. 18And Rehoboam took a wife for himself, Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse; 19and she bore him sons: Jeush, and Shemariah, and Zaham. 20And after her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom; and she bore him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith. 21And Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines (for he took eighteen wives, and sixty concubines, and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters). 22And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah to be chief, even the prince among his brothers; for he intended to make him king. 23And he dealt wisely, and dispersed some of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, to every fortified city: and he gave them provisions in abundance. And he sought for them many wives.