1 And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, and got together the men of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand of his best fighting-men, to make war against Israel and get the kingdom back for Rehoboam.
2 But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying,
3 Say to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin,
4 The Lord has said, You are not to go to war against your brothers: let every man go back to his house, for this thing is my purpose. So they gave ear to the words of the Lord and were turned back from fighting against Jeroboam.
5 Now Rehoboam kept in Jerusalem, building walled towns in Judah.
6 He was the builder of Beth-lehem and Etam and Tekoa
7 And Beth-zur and Soco and Adullam
8 And Gath and Mareshah and Ziph
9 And Adoraim and Lachish and Azekah
10 And Zorah and Aijalon and Hebron, walled towns in Judah and Benjamin.
11 And he made the walled towns strong, and he put captains in them and stores of food, oil, and wine.
12 And in every town he put stores of body-covers and spears, and made them very strong. And Judah and Benjamin were his.
13 And the priests and Levites who were in all Israel came together to him from every part of their country.
14 For the Levites gave up their living-places and their property, and came to Judah and Jerusalem; for Jeroboam and his sons had sent them away, not letting them be priests to the Lord;
15 And he himself made priests for the high places, and for the images of he-goats and oxen which he had made.
16 And after them, from all the tribes of Israel, all those whose hearts were fixed and true to the Lord, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to make offerings to the Lord, the God of their fathers.
17 So they went on increasing the power of the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, strong for three years; and for three years they went in the ways of David and Solomon.
18 And Rehoboam took as his wife Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth, the son of David and of Abihail, the daughter of Eliab, the son of Jesse;
19 And she had sons by him, Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
20 And after her he took Maacah, the daughter of Absalom; and she had Abijah and Attai and Ziza and Shelomith by him.
21 Maacah, the daughter of Absalom, was dearer to Rehoboam than all his wives and his servant-wives: (for he had eighteen wives and sixty servant-wives, and was the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.)
22 Rehoboam made Abijah, the son of Maacah, chief and ruler among his brothers, for it was his purpose to make him king.
23 And in his wisdom he had his sons stationed in every walled town through all the lands of Judah and Benjamin; and he gave them a great store of food, and took wives for them.
1 Tendo Roboão chegado a Jerusalém, convocou da casa de Judá e Benjamim cento e oitenta mil escolhidos, destros na guerra, para pelejarem contra Israel a fim de restituírem o reino a Roboão.
2 Veio, porém, a palavra do Senhor a Semaías, homem de Deus, dizendo:
3 Fala a Roboão, filho de Salomão, rei de Judá, e a todo o Israel em Judá e Benjamim, dizendo:
4 Assim diz o Senhor: Não subireis, nem pelejareis contra os vossos irmãos; volte cada um à sua casa, porque de mim proveio isto. Ouviram, pois, a palavra do Senhor, e desistiram de ir contra Jeroboão.
5 E Roboão habitou em Jerusalém, e edificou em Judá cidades para fortalezas.
6 Edificou, pois, Belém, Etã, Tecoa,
7 Bete-Zur, Socó, Adulão,
8 Gate, Maressa, Zife,
9 Adoraim, Laquis, Azeca,
10 Zorá, Aijalom e Hebrom, que estão em Judá e em Benjamim, cidades fortes.
11 Fortificou estas cidades e pôs nelas capitães, e armazéns de víveres, de azeite e de vinho.
12 E pôs em cada cidade paveses e lanças, e fortificou-as grandemente, de sorte que reteve Judá e Benjamim.
13 Também os sacerdotes e os levitas que havia em todo o Israel recorreram a ele de todos os seus termos.
14 Pois os levitas deixaram os seus arrabaldes e a sua possessão, e vieram para Judá e para Jerusalém, porque Jeroboão e seus filhos os lançaram fora, para que não exercessem o ofício sacerdotal ao Senhor;
15 e Jeroboão constituiu para si sacerdotes, para os altos, e para os demônios, e para os bezerros que fizera.
16 Além desses, de todas as tribos de Israel, os que determinaram no seu coração buscar ao Senhor Deus de Israel, também vieram a Jerusalém, para oferecerem sacrifícios ao Senhor Deus de seus pais.
17 Assim fortaleceram o reino de Judá e corroboraram a Roboão, filho de Salomão, por três anos; porque durante três anos andaram no caminho de Davi e Salomão.
18 Roboão tomou para si, por mulher, a Maalate, filha de Jerimote, filho de Davi; e a Abiail, filha de Eliabe, filho de Jessé,
19 a qual lhe deu os filhos Jeús, Semarias e Zaã.
20 Depois dela tomou a Maacá, filha de Absalão; esta lhe deu Abias, Atai, Ziza e Selomite.
21 Amava Roboão a Maacá, filha de Absalão, mais do que a todas as suas outras mulheres e concubinas; pois tinha tomado dezoito mulheres e sessenta concubinas, e gerou vinte e oito filhos e sessenta filhas.
22 E Roboão designou Abias, filho de Maacá, chefe e príncipe entre os seus irmãos, porque queria fazê-lo rei.
23 Também usou de prudência, distribuindo todos os seus filhos por entre todas as terras de Judá e Benjamim, por todas as cidades fortes; e deu-lhes víveres em abundância, e procurou para eles muitas mulheres.