2 Chronicles 12

1 Now when Rehoboam's position as king had been made certain, and he was strong, he gave up the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him.

Once Rehoboam was secure on the throne and was sure of his power, he together with all the Israelites abandoned the law of the Lord.

2 Now in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem, because of their sin against the Lord,

In the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign, Shishak, king of Egypt, came and attacked Jerusalem because they had been unfaithful to God.

3 With twelve hundred war-carriages and sixty thousand horsemen: and the people who came with him out of Egypt were more than might be numbered: Lubim and Sukkiim and Ethiopians.

He came from Egypt with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and an army that couldn't be counted Egypt—Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites.

4 And he took the walled towns of Judah, and came as far as Jerusalem.

He conquered the fortified towns of Judah and then approached Jerusalem.

5 Now Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the chiefs of Judah, who had come together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, The Lord has said, Because you have given me up, I have given you up into the hands of Shishak.

Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who had run for safety Jerusalem because of Shishak. He told them, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to Shishak.’”

6 Then the chiefs of Israel and the king made themselves low and said, The Lord is upright.

The leaders of Israel and the king admitted they were wrong and said, “The Lord is right.”

7 And the Lord, seeing that they had made themselves low, said to Shemaiah, They have made themselves low: I will not send destruction on them, but in a short time I will give them salvation, and will not let loose my wrath on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.

When the Lord saw that they had repented, he sent a message to Shemaiah, saying, “They have repented. I won't destroy them, and I will soon save them. My anger won't be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.

8 But still they will become his servants, so that they may see how different my yoke is from the yoke of the kingdoms of the lands.

Even so they will become his subjects, so that they can learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of earth.”

9 So Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem and took away all the stored wealth of the house of the Lord and the king's house: he took everything away, and with the rest the gold body-covers which Solomon had made.

King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took the treasures of the Lord's Temple and the treasures of the royal palace. He took away everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made.

10 And in their place King Rehoboam had other body-covers made of brass and gave them into the care of the captains of the armed men who were stationed at the door of the king's house.

Later Rehoboam replaced them with bronze shields and gave them to be looked after by the commanders of the guard stationed at the entrance to the royal palace.

11 And whenever the king went into the house of the Lord, the armed men went with him taking the body-covers, and then took them back to their room.

Whenever the king would enter the Temple of the Lord the guards would go with him, carrying the shields, and then take them back to the guardroom.

12 And when he made himself low, the wrath of the Lord was turned back from him, and complete destruction did not come on him, for there was still some good in Judah.

Because Rehoboam repented, the anger of the Lord did not fall on him, and the Lord did not destroy him completely. Things went well in Judah.

13 So King Rehoboam made himself strong in Jerusalem and was ruling there. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he was ruling for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the town which the Lord had made his out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there; and his mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonite woman.

King Rehoboam became powerful in Jerusalem. He was forty-one when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel where he would be honored. The name of his mother was Naamah the Ammonite.

14 And he did evil because his heart was not true to the Lord.

But Rehoboam did what was evil because he did not commit himself to following the Lord.

15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not recorded in the words of Shemaiah the prophet and Iddo the seer? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.

What Rehoboam did, from beginning to end, is written down in the records of Shemaiah the Prophet and of Iddo the Seer dealing with genealogies. However, Rehoboam and Jeroboam were always at war with each other.

16 And Rehoboam went to rest with his fathers, and was put into the earth in the town of David; and Abijah his son became king in his place.

Rehoboam died and was buried in the City of David. His son Abijah took over as king.