2 Chronicles 12

New English Translation

12 After Rehoboam’s rule was established and solidified, he and all Israel rejected the law of the Lord. ² Because they were unfaithful to the Lord, in King Rehoboam’s fifth year, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. ³ He had 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and an innumerable number of soldiers who accompanied him from Egypt, including Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites. ⁴ He captured the fortified cities of Judah and marched against Jerusalem.

⁵ Shemaiah the prophet visited Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who were assembled in Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have rejected me, so I have rejected you and will hand you over to Shishak.’”^{[a] 6} The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is just.”^{[b] 7} When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the Lord’s message came to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves, so I will not destroy them. I will deliver them soon.^[c] My anger will not be unleashed against^[d] Jerusalem through Shishak. ⁸ Yet they will become his subjects, so they can experience how serving me differs from serving the surrounding nations.”^[e]

⁹ King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took away the treasures of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace; he took everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made. ¹⁰ King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned them to the officers of the royal guard^[f] who protected the entrance to the royal palace. ¹¹ Whenever the king visited the Lord’s temple, the royal guards carried them and then brought them back to the guardroom.^[g]

¹² So when Rehoboam^[h] humbled himself, the Lord relented from his anger and did not annihilate him;^[i] Judah experienced some good things.^{[j] 13} King Rehoboam solidified his rule in Jerusalem;^[k] he^[l] was forty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel to be his home.^[m] Rehoboam’s^[n] mother was an Ammonite named Naamah. ¹⁴ He did evil because he was not determined to follow the Lord.^[o]

¹⁵ The events of Rehoboam’s reign, from start to finish, are recorded^[p] in the Annals of Shemaiah the Prophet and of Iddo the Seer that include genealogical records. There were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. ¹⁶ Then Rehoboam passed away^[q] and was buried in the City of David.^[r] His son Abijah replaced him as king.