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¹ AND when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled of the house of Judah and Benjamin a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who drew sword, and who were warriors, to fight against Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.² But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying,³ Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to the house of Benjamin and to all Israel and to the rest of the people, saying,⁴ Thus says the LORD: YOU shall not go up, nor fight; return every man to his house, for this thing is done of me. And they obeyed the word of the LORD, and returned, to go every man to his house.⁵ And Jeroboam built Shechem on the mountain of the tribe of the house of Ephraim, and dwelt in it; and went out from there and built Penuel.⁶ And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David;⁷ If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again to their LORD, and they shall kill me and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.⁸ Therefore the king took counsel and made two calves of gold, and said to the people, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem, why should you go up to Jerusalem and come down? Then he said, These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.⁹ And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other he put in Dan.¹⁰ And this thing became a sin; for the people went to worship before the calf, even to Dan. And this thing became a sin to all the house of Jeroboam, to be uprooted and destroyed from the earth.¹¹ At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick; and Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise and disguise yourself, and be as a simple woman, that you may not be known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and go to Shiloh; behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, who told me that I should be king over this people.¹² Go to him; he shall tell you what shall become of this child.

¹³ And the LORD said to Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to ask a thing of you concerning her son; for he is sick; thus and thus shall you say to her; for it shall be, when she comes in, that she will disguise herself.¹⁴ And it came to pass, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in at the door, he said to her, Come in, wife of Jeroboam; why have you disguised yourself? For I am sent to tell you harsh words.¹⁵ Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus says the LORD God of Israel: I have exalted you from among the people and made you king over my people Israel,¹⁶ And took the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you; and yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and who walked in my statutes with all his heart to do that which was right in my presence;¹⁷ But you have done evil above all kings who were before you; for you have gone and made for yourself idols of the nations, and images to blaspheme before me, and have cast my worship behind your back.¹⁸ And Rehoboam took to him Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth, the son of David, to wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse,¹⁹ Which bare him children; Jeush, and Shamariah and Zaham.²⁰ And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom, which bore him Abijah and Attai and Ziza and Shelomith.²¹ And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines (for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines; and begat twenty-eight sons, and sixty daughters).²² And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the crown prince, to be ruler among his brethren; for he thought to make him king.²³ And he dealt wisely, and dispersed all of his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin unto every fortified city; and he gave them food in abundance. And he desired many wives.