2 But the Lord spoke his word to Shemaiah, a man of God, saying,
3 “Speak to Solomon’s son Rehoboam, the king of Judah, and 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, because I made all these things happen.’ ” So they obeyed the Lord’s command and turned back and did not attack Jeroboam.
5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built strong cities in Judah to defend it.
6 He built up the cities of Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,
7 Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam,
8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph,