Thomson(i)
1 Now when Roboam came to Jerusalem and had assembled of Juda and Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand of the young men who were warriors, and was going to war with Israel, to restore the kingdom to Roboam;
2 a word of the Lord came to Samaias, a man of God, saying,
3 Speak to Roboam son of Solomon, and to all Juda and Benjamin, and say,
4 Thus saith the Lord, You shall not go up nor fight with your brethren. Return every man to his house, for this thing is done by me. So they hearkened to the word of the Lord, and did not go up against Jeroboam.
5 And Roboam dwelt at Jerusalem and built walled cities in Judea.
6 He built Bethlehem and Aitan and Thekoe
7 and Bathsura and Sokchoth and Odollam
8 and Geth and Marisa and Ziph
9 and Adorai and Lachis and Azeka
10 and Saraa and Ailom and Chebron, walled cities of Juda and Benjamin.
11 And when he had strengthened them with walls, he appointed governors in them, with stores of provisions, oil and wine.
12 And in every city he put shields and spears, and made them very strong. Now there were with him Juda and Benjamin.
13 And the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel, resorted to him, from all their borders.
14 For the Levites left the habitations of their possession and went to Juda to Jerusalem; for Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from ministering to the Lord,
15 and made for himself priests of the high places for the idols, and the vanities and the calves which Jeroboam made.
16 He expelled also from among the tribes of Israel them who set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers,
17 and strengthened the kingdom of Juda. So he strengthened Roboam son of Solomon three years, because for three years he walked in the ways of David and Solomon.
18 Now Roboam took for himself to wife Moolath a daughter of Jerimouth a son of David, and Abigaia a daughter of Eliab the son of Jessai,
19 who bore him sons, namely Jeus and Samoria and Zaam;
20 and after that he took to wife Maacha a daughter of Abessalom, and she bore him Abia and Jetthi and Zoza and Salemoth.
21 And Roboam loved Maacha, daughter of Abessalom, more than all his wives and concubines, [for he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and by them he had twenty eight sons and sixty daughters;]
22 so he appointed Abia the son of Maacha to be chief and ruler among his brothers. Because he determined to make him king,
23 therefore he was exalted above all his sons in all the borders of Juda and Benjamin, and in fortified cities. And he supplied these cities with provisions in abundance, and procured for him a multitude of wives.