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.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 12:5 tn Heb “also I have rejected you into the hand of Shishak.”
- 2 Chronicles 12:6 tn Or “fair,” meaning the Lord’s punishment of them was just or fair.
- 2 Chronicles 12:7 tn Heb “I will give them deliverance soon.”
- 2 Chronicles 12:7 tn Heb “pour out on.”
- 2 Chronicles 12:8 tn Heb “so they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the lands.”
- 2 Chronicles 12:10 tn Heb “runners” (also in v. 11).
- 2 Chronicles 12:11 tn Heb “to the chamber of the runners.”
- 2 Chronicles 12:12 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Chronicles 12:12 tn Heb “the anger of the Lord turned from him and did not destroy completely.”
- 2 Chronicles 12:12 tn Heb “and also in Judah there were good things.”
- 2 Chronicles 12:13 tn Heb “and the king, Rehoboam, strengthened himself in Jerusalem and ruled.”
- 2 Chronicles 12:13 tn Heb “Rehoboam.” The recurrence of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style, so the pronoun has been used in the translation instead.
- 2 Chronicles 12:13 tn Heb “the city where the Lord chose to place his name from all the tribes of Israel.”
- 2 Chronicles 12:13 tn Heb “his”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Chronicles 12:14 tn Heb “because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.”
- 2 Chronicles 12:15 tn Heb “As for the events of Rehoboam, the former and the latter, are they not written?”
- 2 Chronicles 12:16 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
- 2 Chronicles 12:16 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.