3. “Shemaiah, talk to Solomon’s son Rehoboam, the king of Judah. Talk also to all the Israelites living in Judah and Benjamin. Say to them,
4. ‘The Lord says you must not go to war against your brothers. Every one of you should go home. I made all these things happen.’” So King Rehoboam and his army obeyed the Lord’s command. They turned back and did not attack Jeroboam.
5. Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem. He built strong cities in Judah to defend it against attacks.
6. He built up the cities of Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
7. Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam,
8. Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,
9. Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,
10. Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. These were strong, walled cities in Judah and Benjamin.
11. When Rehoboam made those cities strong, he put commanders in them. He also put supplies of food, oil and wine in them.
12. Also, Rehoboam put shields and spears in all the cities. So he made them very strong. Rehoboam kept the peoples and cities of Judah and Benjamin under his control.
13. The priests and the Levites from all over Israel joined Rehoboam.
14. The Levites even left their pasturelands and fields and came to Judah and Jerusalem. They did this because Jeroboam and his sons refused to let them serve as priests to the Lord.