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11 Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem. He brought together 180,000 fighting men from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. He had decided to make war against Israel. He wanted his fighting men to get the kingdom of Israel back for him.
2But a message came to Shemaiah from the Lord. He was a man of God. The Lord said to him, 3“Speak to Solomon’s son Rehoboam, the king of Judah. Speak to all of the people of Israel in Judah and Benjamin. Tell them, 4‘The Lord says, “Do not go up to fight against your relatives. I want every one of you to go back home. Things have happened exactly the way I planned them.” ’ ”
So the fighting men obeyed the Lord’s message. They turned back. They didn’t march out against Jeroboam.
Rehoboam Builds Up Judah’s Towns
5Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem. He made Judah more secure by building up their towns. 6He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7Beth Zur, Soco and Adullam. 8He also built up Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. All of them were cities in Judah and Benjamin that had high walls around them.
11Rehoboam made those cities even more secure. He put commanders in them. He gave them plenty of food, olive oil and wine. 12He put shields and spears in all of those cities. He made them very strong. So he ruled over Judah and Benjamin.
13The priests and Levites were on Rehoboam’s side. They came from their territories all over Israel. 14The Levites even left their grasslands and other property behind. They came to Judah and Jerusalem. That’s because Jeroboam and his sons had refused to accept them as priests of the Lord. 15Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the high places. He had made statues of gods that looked like goats and calves. His priests served those gods.
16Some people from every tribe in Israel followed the Levites to Jerusalem. With all their hearts they wanted to worship the Lord. He is the God of Israel. They came to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to him. He was the God of their people of long ago.
17All those who came to Jerusalem made the kingdom of Judah strong. They helped Solomon’s son Rehoboam for three years. During that time they lived the way David and Solomon had lived.
18Rehoboam got married to Mahalath. She was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth. Her mother was Abihail. Abihail was the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab. 19Mahalath had sons by Rehoboam. Their names were Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham.
20Then Rehoboam married Maacah. She was the daughter of Absalom. She had sons by Rehoboam. Their names were Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. 21Rehoboam loved Absalom’s daughter Maacah. In fact, he loved her more than any of his other wives and concubines. He had a total of 18 wives and 60 concubines. And he had a total of 28 sons and 60 daughters.
22Rehoboam appointed Maacah’s son Abijah to be the chief prince among his brothers. He did it to make him king. 23He acted wisely. He scattered some of his sons through all of the territories of Judah and Benjamin. He put them in all of the cities that had high walls around them. He gave them plenty of food and everything else they needed. He also gave them many wives.
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About New International Reader’s Version (1998)The New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) was developed to help early readers understand the Bible. Begun in 1992, the NIrV is a simplification of the New International Version (NIV). The NIrV uses shorter words and sentences so that those with a typical fourth grade reading level can comprehend what they are reading. The chapters have been separated into shorter sections and most have titles that clearly indicate what the section is all about. The NIrV will be a valuable translation to those for whom English is a second language. The NIrV still relies on the best and oldest copies of the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts for its translation, guaranteeing that those who read it are getting the actual Word of God. |
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