Bulebesambeli gwa Shemaiya
(1 Bomambo 12:21-24)1 Kukati Rehoboamu eswika ku Jerusalema, kakubunganya babhayani bali zwiwulu zwili zana lina makumi ali zhanakadzi (180 000), kudwa mu nsha wose wa Juda ne ludzi gose gwa Bhenjamini. Akazwimisila kunogwa ne Iziraela kubgwilizila mbuso kuna Rehobhoamu. 2 Koga dama le Ndzimu likazha kuna Shemaya we nlebesambeli, likandwa likati, 3 “Lebeleka na Rehoboamu nkololo wa Solomoni mambo we Juda ne bathu bose ne ng'umba yose ya Juda neya Bhenjamini, ubadwe uti, 4 ‘Yahwe bakati musiyende kunogwa ne bakanyi kwenyu Baiziraela. Mmwe ne mmwe ngaabgwilile ku nzi uwe, ngobe tjashingikala tjodwa kundili.’ ” Ndizo bose bakahwa matama a Yahwe, bakashandukila ku nzi, sekwaleba Yahwe.
Rehoboamu unobaka matizhilo
5 Rehoboamu kagala mu Jerusalema ngono kabaka mizi mikulu ye matizhilo mu Juda. 6 Wakabaka Bhetelehema ne Etamu ne Tekowa ne 7 Bhetizuri ne Soko ne Adulamu ne 8 Gati ne Mareshahi ne Zifi ne 9 Adoraimu ne Lakhishi ne Azekahi ne 10 Zora ne Aijaloni ne Heburoni, iyeyi ndiyo mizi mikulu ye Juda ne Bhenjamini. 11 Wakabaka matizhilo iyawa akasima ngono kabiga batungamili mu ali kabiga ne matula e zojiwa ne mafuta ne nkumbi we zhambi. 12 Wakabiga zwivikisi ne mathumo mu mizi mikulu yose, eisimisa. Ndizo Juda ne Bhenjamini dzakabe dzili dzidze.
13 Ngono bapirisiti ne Balevi bakabe bali mu Iziraela bakazha kunli bedwa mu magalo akathubukana abakabe begala. 14 Balevi bakasiya shango yabo ye mafulilo ne thundu ngono bakazha ku Juda ne Jerusalema ngoti Jeroboamu ne bakololo babe bakabe babathubula mukushingila Yahwe, 15 ngono kabiga bapirisiti babe kuti bashinge mu magalo pezhugwi ekunamata ne kutungamila mu kunamata midzimu ye zwifano zwe mbudzi ne phulu yaakabe athama. 16 Ngono ibabo bakabe bakazwipa kutobela Yahwe Ndzimu we Iziraela bakabatobela kudwa mu njudzi dzose dze Iziraela bezha ku Jerusalema bewodusila Yahwe zwibhayilo Ndzimu wa botate babo. 17 Bakasimisa bushe gwe Juda, kwe makole matatu bakathama kuti Rehoboamu nkololo wa Solomoni adzikame mu bumambo, ngoti bakatobela zila dza Dafite na Solomoni kwe makole matatu.
Nsha wa Rehoboamu
18 Rehoboamu kalobola Mahalati, Mahalati ali nkololokadzi wa Jerimoti, Jerimoti ali nkololo wa Dafite, mme ba Mahalati bali Abihaile, Abihaile ali nkololokadzi wa Eliyabu mwana we mwana wa Jesi. 19 Kanzwalila bakololo bali batatu ibo bakabe bali bo Jeushi na Shemariya na Zahamu. 20 Kwakati shule katola Maaka nkololokadzi wa Abusalomu ngono iye kazwala Abija na Atai na Ziza na Shelomiti. 21 Rehoboamu wakabe eda Maaka nkololokadzi wa Abusalomu kupinda bakadzi babe bose ne kupinda bakadzi batukunu bose. Rehoboamu wakabe ana bakadzi bali gumi lina bali zhanakadzi (18) ne balongwana babo bose bali makumi ali tathatu (60) ne bakololo bali makumi mabili ana bali zhanakadzi (28) ne bakololokadzi bali makumi ali tathatu (60), 22 ngono Rehoboamu kabiga Abija nkololo wa Maaka kuti abe iye ntungamili mu banunguna babe ngoti wakabe eshaka kuti azhe ambige mambo. 23 Rehoboamu kakobela bakololo babe mishingo nge butjenjedu ngono kababiga batungamili mu mituthu yose ye matizhilo ye Juda ne Bhenjamini. Ngono wakabatjengeta kwazo kakale kabashakila bakadzi banjinji.
Shemaiah the Prophet Warns Rehoboam
(1 Kings 12.21-24)1 After Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem, he decided to attack Israel and regain control of the whole country. So he called together 180,000 soldiers from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
2 Meanwhile, the Lord had told Shemaiah the prophet 3 to tell Rehoboam and everyone from Judah and Benjamin, 4 “The Lord warns you not to go to war against the people from the northern tribes—they are your relatives. Go home! The Lord is the one who made these things happen.”
Rehoboam and his army obeyed the Lord's message and did not attack Jeroboam and his troops.
Rehoboam Fortifies Cities in Judah
5 Rehoboam ruled from Jerusalem, and he had several cities in Judah turned into fortresses so he could use them to defend his country. These cities included 6 Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth-Zur, Soco, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. After he had fortified these cities in the territories of Judah and Benjamin, 11 he assigned an army commander to each of them and stocked them with supplies of food, olive oil, and wine, 12 as well as with shields and spears. He used these fortified cities to keep control of Judah and Benjamin.
The Priests and the Levites Support Rehoboam
13 The priests and Levites from the northern tribes of Israel gave their support to King Rehoboam. 14 And since Jeroboam and the kings of Israel that followed him would not allow any Levites to serve as priests, most Levites left their towns and pasturelands in Israel and moved to Jerusalem and other towns in Judah. 15 Jeroboam chose his own priests to serve at the local shrines in Israel and at the places of worship where he had set up statues of goat-demons and of calves.
16 But some of the people from Israel wanted to worship the Lord God, just as their ancestors had done. So they followed the priests and Levites to Jerusalem, where they could offer sacrifices to the Lord. 17 For the next three years, they lived in Judah and were loyal to Rehoboam and his kingdom, just as they had been loyal to David and Solomon.
Rehoboam's Family
18 Rehoboam married Mahalath, whose father was Jerimoth son of David, and whose mother was Abihail the daughter of Eliab and granddaughter of Jesse. 19 Rehoboam and Mahalath had three sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 Then Rehoboam married Maacah the daughter of Absalom. Their sons were Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
21 Rehoboam had 18 wives, but he also married 60 other women, and he was the father of 28 sons and 60 daughters. Rehoboam loved his wife Maacah the most, 22 so he chose their oldest son Abijah to be the next king. 23 Rehoboam was wise enough to put one of his sons in charge of each fortified city in his kingdom. He gave them all the supplies they needed and found wives for every one of them.