¹³ Rehoboam made his authority as king in Jerusalem very strong. He was 41 years old when he became king. He ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem. That was the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. He chose it as the place where people would give honour to his name. Rehoboam's mother was an Ammonite woman. Her name was Naamah. ¹⁴ Rehoboam did wicked things because he did not want to serve the Lord faithfully.

¹⁵ All the things that happened while Rehoboam was king of Judah are written in some books. The prophet Shemaiah and the prophet Iddo wrote those things in their books. The books include lists of the ancestors of Rehoboam's family. Rehoboam and Jeroboam fought wars against each other all the time.