1 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mobilized the house of Judah and Benjamin — 180,000 chosen warriors — to fight against Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. 2But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God: 3“Tell Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah and all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin 4that this is what the Lord says: ‘You are not to go up and fight against your brothers. Each of you must return home, for this is My doing.’”

So they listened to the words of the Lord and turned back from going against Jeroboam.

5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and he built up cities for defense in Judah. 6He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, 8Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, the fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin. 11He strengthened their fortifications and put officers in them, with supplies of food, oil, and wine. 12He also put shields and spears in all the cities and strengthened them greatly. So Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.

13 Moreover, the priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel stood with Rehoboam. 14For the Levites left their pasturelands and their possessions and went to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the Lord. 15And Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat demons and calf idols he had made.

16 Those from every tribe of Israel who had set their hearts to seek the Lord their God followed the Levites to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their fathers. 17So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years, because they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.

18 And Rehoboam married Mahalath, who was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab. 19She bore sons to him: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.

20 After her, he married Maacah daughter of Absalom, and she bore to him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 21Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he was the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

22 Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah as chief prince among his brothers, intending to make him king. 23Rehoboam also acted wisely by dispersing some of his sons throughout the districts of Judah and Benjamin, and to all the fortified cities. He gave them abundant provisions and sought many wives for them.

1 After Rehoboam had established his sovereignty and royal power, he and all Israel with him forsook the Law of the Lord. 2In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem 3with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and countless troops who came with him out of Egypt— Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites. 4He captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

5 Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and he said to them, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have forsaken Me; therefore, I have forsaken you into the hand of Shishak.’”

6 So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is righteous.”

7 When the Lord saw that they had humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them, but will soon grant them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. 8Nevertheless, they will become his servants, so that they may learn the difference between serving Me and serving the kings of other lands.”

9 So King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and seized the treasures of the house of the Lord and of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made.

10 Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and committed them to the care of the captains of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. 11And whenever the king entered the house of the Lord, the guards would go with him, bearing the shields, and later they would return them to the guardroom.

12 Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the anger of the Lord turned away from him, and He did not destroy him completely. Indeed, conditions were good in Judah.

13 Thus King Rehoboam established himself in Jerusalem and reigned. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel in which to put His Name. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. 14And Rehoboam did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.

15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, from first to last, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah the Prophet and of Iddo the Seer concerning the genealogies? There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their days. 16And Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And his son Abijah reigned in his place.

1 In the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign, Abijah became king of Judah, 2and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Micaiah daughter of Uriel; she was from Gibeah.

And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3Abijah went into battle with an army of 400,000 chosen men, while Jeroboam drew up in formation against him with 800,000 chosen and mighty men of valor.

4 Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! 5Do you not know that the Lord, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? 6Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master. 7Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young, inexperienced, and unable to resist them.

8 And now you think you can resist the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hands of David’s descendants. You are indeed a vast army, and you have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods. 9But did you not drive out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites? And did you not make priests for yourselves as do the peoples of other lands? Now whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of things that are not gods.

10 But as for us, the Lord is our God. We have not forsaken Him; the priests who minister to the Lord are sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties. 11Every morning and every evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the Lord. They set out the rows of showbread on the ceremonially clean table, and every evening they light the lamps of the gold lampstand. We are carrying out the requirements of the Lord our God, while you have forsaken Him.

12 Now behold, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with their trumpets sound the battle call against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.”

13 Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to ambush from the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah, the ambush was behind them. 14When Judah turned and discovered that the battle was both before and behind them, they cried out to the Lord. Then the priests blew the trumpets, 15and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. And when they raised the cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

16 So the Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands. 17Then Abijah and his people struck them with a mighty blow, and 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain. 18Thus the Israelites were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers.

19 Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured some cities from him: Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, along with their villages.

20 Jeroboam did not again recover his power during the days of Abijah, and the Lord struck him down and he died.

21 But Abijah grew strong, married fourteen wives, and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, along with his ways and his words, are written in the Treatise of the Prophet Iddo.

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. 27And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

28 And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. 29For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.

31 What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God— and He is interceding for us.

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.