2 Chronicles 11

¹And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem; and he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men apt for war, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.

²But the word of Jehovah came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

³Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,

⁴Thus saith Jehovah: Go not up, nor fight with your brethren; return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. And they hearkened to the words of Jehovah, and returned from going against Jeroboam.

⁵And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah.

⁶And he built Bethlehem, 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 Ajalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities.

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

¹²and in every several city, targets and spears, and made them exceedingly strong. And Judah and Benjamin were his.

¹³And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their districts;

¹⁴for the Levites left their suburbs and their possessions, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from exercising the priesthood to Jehovah;