1 And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, and got together the men of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand of his best fighting-men, to make war against Israel and get the kingdom back for Rehoboam.

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

3 Say to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin,

4 The Lord has said, You are not to go to war against your brothers: let every man go back to his house, for this thing is my purpose. So they gave ear to the words of the Lord and were turned back from fighting against Jeroboam.

5 Now Rehoboam kept in Jerusalem, building walled towns in Judah.

6 He was the builder of Beth-lehem and Etam and Tekoa

7 And Beth-zur and Soco and Adullam

8 And Gath and Mareshah and Ziph

9 And Adoraim and Lachish and Azekah

10 And Zorah and Aijalon and Hebron, walled towns in Judah and Benjamin.

11 And he made the walled towns strong, and he put captains in them and stores of food, oil, and wine.

12 And in every town he put stores of body-covers and spears, and made them very strong. And Judah and Benjamin were his.

13 And the priests and Levites who were in all Israel came together to him from every part of their country.

14 For the Levites gave up their living-places and their property, and came to Judah and Jerusalem; for Jeroboam and his sons had sent them away, not letting them be priests to the Lord;

15 And he himself made priests for the high places, and for the images of he-goats and oxen which he had made.

16 And after them, from all the tribes of Israel, all those whose hearts were fixed and true to the Lord, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to make offerings to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

17 So they went on increasing the power of the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, strong for three years; and for three years they went in the ways of David and Solomon.

18 And Rehoboam took as his wife Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth, the son of David and of Abihail, the daughter of Eliab, the son of Jesse;

19 And she had sons by him, Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.

20 And after her he took Maacah, the daughter of Absalom; and she had Abijah and Attai and Ziza and Shelomith by him.

21 Maacah, the daughter of Absalom, was dearer to Rehoboam than all his wives and his servant-wives: (for he had eighteen wives and sixty servant-wives, and was the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.)

22 Rehoboam made Abijah, the son of Maacah, chief and ruler among his brothers, for it was his purpose to make him king.

23 And in his wisdom he had his sons stationed in every walled town through all the lands of Judah and Benjamin; and he gave them a great store of food, and took wives for them.

1 Roboamo, giunto che fu a Gerusalemme, radunò la casa di Giuda e di Beniamino, centottantamila uomini, guerrieri scelti, per combattere contro Israele e restituire il regno a Roboamo.

2 Ma la parola dell’Eterno fu così rivolta a Scemaia, uomo di Dio:

3 "Parla a Roboamo, figliuolo di Salomone, re di Giuda, e a tutto Israele in Giuda e in Beniamino, e di’ oro:

4 Così parla l’Eterno: Non salite a combattere contro i vostri fratelli! Ognuno se ne torni a casa sua; perché questo e avvenuto per voler mio". Quelli ubbidirono alla parola dell’Eterno, e se ne tornaron via rinunziando a marciare contro Geroboamo.

5 Roboamo abitò in Gerusalemme, e costruì delle città fortificate in Giuda.

6 Costruì Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,

7 Beth-Tsur, Soco, Adullam,

8 Gath, Maresha, Zif,

9 Adoraim, Lakis, Azeka,

10 Tsorea, Ajalon ed Hebron, che erano in Giuda e in Beniamino, e ne fece delle città fortificate.

11 Munì queste città fortificate, vi pose dei comandanti e dei magazzini di viveri, d’olio e di vino;

12 e in ognuna di queste città mise scudi e lance, e le rese straordinariamente forti. E Giuda e Beniamino furon per lui.

13 I sacerdoti e i Leviti di tutto Israele vennero da tutte le loro contrade a porsi accanto a lui;

14 poiché i Leviti abbandonarono i loro contadi e le loro proprietà, e vennero in Giuda e a Gerusalemme; perché Geroboamo, con i suoi figliuoli, li avea cacciati perché non esercitassero più l’ufficio di sacerdoti dell’Eterno,

15 e s’era creato de’ sacerdoti per gli alti luoghi, per i demoni, e per i vitelli che avea fatti.

16 E quelli di tutte le tribù d’Israele che aveano in cuore di cercare l’Eterno, l’Iddio d’Israele, seguirono i eviti a Gerusalemme per offrir sacrifizi all’Eterno, all’Iddio del loro padri;

17 e fortificarono così il regno di Giuda e resero stabile Roboamo, figliuolo di Salomone, durante tre anni; perché per tre anni seguiron la via di Davide e di Salomone.

18 Roboamo prese per moglie Mahalath, figliuola di Jerimoth, figliuolo di Davide e di Abihail, figliuola di Eliab, figliuolo d’Isai.

19 Essa gli partorì questi figliuoli: Jeush, Scemaria e Zaham.

20 Dopo di lei, prese Maaca, figliuola d’Absalom, la quale gli partorì Ahija, Attai, Ziza e Scelomith.

21 E Roboamo amò Maaca, figliuola di Absalom, più di tutte le sue mogli e di tutte le sue concubine; erché ebbe diciotto mogli, e sessanta concubine, e generò ventotto figliuoli e sessanta figliuole.

22 Roboamo stabilì Abija, figliuolo di Maaca, come capo della famiglia e principe de’ suoi fratelli, perché aveva in mente di farlo re.

23 E, con avvedutezza, sparse tutti i suoi figliuoli per tutte le contrade di Giuda e di Beniamino, in tutte le città fortificate, dette loro viveri in abbondanza, e cercò per loro molte mogli.