And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he gathered the house of Judah and Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand choice warriors, to wage war with Israel in order to return the kingdom to Rehoboam.

But the word of Jehovah came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, the king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,

Thus says Jehovah, You shall not go up and wage war with your brothers. Every man return to his house; for this matter is of Me. So they listened to the words of Jehovah and returned from going against Jeroboam.

And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem and built cities for defense in Judah.

He built Bethlehem and Etam and Tekoa

And Beth-zur and Soco and Adullam

And Gath and Mareshah and Ziph

And Adoraim and Lachish and Azekah

And Zorah and Aijalon and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities.

And he strengthened the fortresses and put commanders in them, as well as stores of food and oil and wine,

And in every city, shields and spears; and he made them exceedingly strong. And Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.

And the priests and the Levites who had been throughout all Israel presented themselves to him out of all their territory;

For the Levites abandoned their pasture lands and their property and went to Judah and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out so that they could not function as priests to Jehovah.

And he appointed priests for himself for the high places and for the goats and the calves that he had made.

And those from all the tribes of Israel who set their hearts to seek Jehovah the God of Israel came after them to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Jehovah, the God of their fathers.

And they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam the son of Solomon for three years, for they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.

And Rehoboam took to himself for his wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse.

And she bore him sons: Jeush and Shemariah and Zaham.

And after her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom; and she bore him Abijah and Attai and Ziza and Shelomith.

And Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines. (For he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines and begot twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.)

And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah to be chief prince, the leader among his brothers; for he intended to make him king.

And he acted wisely and dispersed all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, to all the fortified cities; and he gave them food in abundance and sought many wives for them.