And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem; and he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men apt for war, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.

Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,

and Zorah, and Ajalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities.

and in every several city, targets and spears, and made them exceedingly strong. And Judah and Benjamin were his.

And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, to all the fortified cities; and he gave them food in abundance. And he desired for them a multitude of wives.

And it came to pass that, Asa, had a force bearing shield and spear, out of Judah, three hundred thousand, and, out of Benjamin, such as bare a buckler and trode a bow, two hundred and eighty thousand, - all these, were heroes of valour.

So he went forth to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear me, O Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin, - Yahweh, is with you, so long as ye are with him, and, if ye seek him, he will be found of you, but, if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.

"Listen to me, Asa, Judah, and Benjamin! The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will allow you to find him, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you. Israel lived for years without the true God, priests to teach them, and the Law,

And, when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he strengthened himself, and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had captured out of the hill country of Ephraim, - and renewed the altar of Yahweh, that was before the porch of Yahweh.

And he gathered together all Judah and Benjamin, and the sojourners with them, out of Ephraim and out of Manasseh, and out of Simeon, - for they fell unto him out of Israel, in great numbers, because they saw that, Yahweh his God, was with him.

And, out of Benjamin, a hero of valour, Eliada, - and, with him, armed with bow and buckler, two hundred thousand;

And Amaziah gathered Judah together and arranged them according to the fathers' houses, according to the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, throughout Judah and Benjamin; and he numbered them from twenty years old and upwards, and found them three hundred thousand choice men, able for military service, that could handle spear and target.

Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, broke the pillars in pieces, cut down the Asherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his possession.

They came to Hilkiah the high priest and delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the doorkeepers, had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Moreover, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand with him. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.