1Rehoboam had made his position as king secure. He had become very strong. Then he turned away from the law of the LORD. So did all the people of Judah.2They hadn’t been faithful to the LORD. So Shishak attacked Jerusalem. It was in the fifth year that Rehoboam was king. Shishak was king of Egypt.3He came with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. Troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites came with him from Egypt. There were so many of them they couldn’t be counted.4Shishak captured the cities of Judah that had high walls around them. He came all the way to Jerusalem.5Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah. They had gathered together in Jerusalem. They were afraid of Shishak. Shemaiah said to them, ‘The LORD says, “You have left me. So now I am leaving you to Shishak.” ’6The king and the leaders of Israel made themselves humble in the LORD’s sight. They said, ‘The LORD does what is right and fair.’7The LORD saw they had made themselves humble. So he gave a message to Shemaiah. The LORD said, ‘They have made themselves humble in my sight. So I will not destroy them. Instead, I will soon save them. Even though I am very angry with Jerusalem, I will not use Shishak to destroy them.8But the people of Jerusalem will be brought under his control. Then they will learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.’9Shishak, the king of Egypt, attacked Jerusalem. He carried away the treasures of the LORD’s temple. He also carried the treasures of the royal palace away. He took everything. That included the gold shields Solomon had made.10So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to take their place. He gave them to the commanders of the guards who were on duty at the entrance to the royal palace.11Every time the king went to the LORD’s temple, the guards went with him. They carried the shields. Later, they took them back to the room where they were kept.12Rehoboam had made himself humble in the LORD’s sight. So the LORD turned his anger away from him. Rehoboam wasn’t totally destroyed. In fact, some good things happened in Judah.13King Rehoboam had made his position secure in Jerusalem. He continued as king. He was 41 years old when he became king. He ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem. It was the city the LORD had chosen out of all the cities in the tribes of Israel. He wanted to put his Name there. The name of Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah from Ammon.14Rehoboam did what was evil. That’s because he hadn’t worshipped the LORD with all his heart.15The events of Rehoboam’s rule from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the records of Shemaiah and Iddo, the prophets. The records deal with family histories. Rehoboam and Jeroboam were always at war with each other.16Rehoboam joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the City of David. Rehoboam’s son Abijah became the next king after him.
2 Chronicles 12
English Standard Version
Egypt Plunders Jerusalem
1When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. (1Ki 14:22; 2Ch 11:17; 2Ch 26:16)2In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem (1Ki 11:40; 1Ki 14:25)3with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. And the people were without number who came with him from Egypt—Libyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians. (2Ch 16:8; Da 11:43; Na 3:9)4And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. (2Ch 11:5)5Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, ‘You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.’” (1Ki 12:22; 2Ch 11:2; 2Ch 15:2)6Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is righteous.” (Ex 9:27; 2Ch 21:2)7When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. (1Ki 21:29; 2Ch 7:14; 2Ch 34:25; Jas 4:10)8Nevertheless, they shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.” (De 28:47; Isa 26:13)9So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house. He took away everything. He also took away the shields of gold that Solomon had made, (1Ki 10:16; 1Ki 14:26; 2Ch 9:15)10and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house.11And as often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard came and carried them and brought them back to the guardroom.12And when he humbled himself the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to make a complete destruction. Moreover, conditions were good[1] in Judah. (1Ki 21:29; 2Ch 7:14; 2Ch 19:3; Jas 4:10)13So King Rehoboam grew strong in Jerusalem and reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. (1Ki 14:21)14And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the Lord. (2Ch 19:3)15Now the acts of Rehoboam, from first to last, are they not written in the chronicles of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer?[2] There were continual wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. (1Sa 9:9; 1Ki 12:22; 1Ki 14:29; 1Ch 29:29; 2Ch 9:29; 2Ch 12:5; 2Ch 13:22)16And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David, and Abijah[3] his son reigned in his place. (1Ki 14:31)