2 Chronicles 11-12

21st Century King James Version

11 And when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he gathered from the house of Judah and Benjamin a hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men who 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 from 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 defense 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, fortified cities.

¹¹ And he fortified the strongholds and put captains in them, and stores of victuals and of oil and wine.

¹² And in each separate city he put shields and spears, and made them exceedingly strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side.

¹³ And the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their borders.

¹⁴ For the Levites left their suburbs and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the Lord.

¹⁵ And he ordained for himself 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 Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David for a wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse,

¹⁹ who bore him children: Jeush, and Shamariah, and Zaham.

²⁰ And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom, who bore 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 begot 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 some of his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fortified city; and he gave them victuals in abundance. And he desired many wives.

12 And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him.

² And it came to pass that in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the Lord,

³ with twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen; and the people were without number who came with him out of Egypt: the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians.

⁴ And he took the fortified cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem.

⁵ Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who were gathered together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, “Thus saith the Lord: ‘Ye have forsaken Me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.’”

⁶ Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves, and they said, “The Lord is righteous.”

⁷ And when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves. Therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and My wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.

⁸ Nevertheless they shall be his servants, that they may know My service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.”

⁹ So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house. He took all: he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made.

¹⁰ In their stead King Rehoboam made shields of brass and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard, who kept the entrance of the king’s house.

¹¹ And when the king entered into the house of the Lord, the guard came and fetched them, and brought them again into the guard chamber.

¹² And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, that He would not destroy him altogether; and also in Judah things went well.

¹³ So King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned; for Rehoboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put His name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess.

¹⁴ And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.

¹⁵ Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.

¹⁶ And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David; and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.