2 Imilando 12
1 Kwasekusithi uRehobhowamu eseqinise umbuso, eseziqinisile, watshiya umlayo weNkosi, loIsrayeli wonke laye.
After Rehoboam was in complete control of his kingdom, he and all [the other people in] Judah stopped obeying the laws of Yahweh.
2 Kwasekusithi ngomnyaka wesihlanu wenkosi uRehobhowamu, uShishaki inkosi yeGibhithe wenyuka wamelana leJerusalema, ngoba babephambukile eNkosini,
As a result, after Rehoboam had been king for almost five years, Yahweh sent Shishak, the king of Egypt, [with his army] to attack Jerusalem.
3 elezinqola ezingamakhulu alitshumi lambili labagadi bamabhiza abazinkulungwane ezingamatshumi ayisithupha; labantu babengelakubalwa abeza laye bephuma eGibhithe, amaLibiya, amaSukhi, lamaEthiyophiya.
Along with his army he brought 1,200 chariots and 60,000 soldiers riding horses and a very large number of troops from two regions in Libya, and from Ethiopia.
4 Wasethumba imizi ebiyelweyo eyayingeyakoJuda weza eJerusalema.
They captured many of the cities in Judah that had walls around them, and they came as far as Jerusalem.
5 UShemaya umprofethi wasefika kuRehobhowamu lezikhulu zakoJuda ezazibuthene eJerusalema ngenxa kaShishaki, wathi kubo: Itsho njalo iNkosi: Lina lingilahlile, ngakho lami ngililahlele esandleni sikaShishaki.
Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and the other leaders of Judah who had gathered in Jerusalem because they were afraid of [the army of] Shishak. Shemaiah said to them, “Yahweh says this: ‘You have abandoned me; so now I am abandoning you, to [allow you to be captured by the army of] Shishak.’”
6 Iziphathamandla zakoIsrayeli kanye lenkosi basebezithoba bathi: INkosi ilungile.
Then the king and the other Israeli leaders humbled themselves and said, “What Yahweh is doing to us is fair.”
7 INkosi isibona ukuthi bazithobile, ilizwi leNkosi lafika kuShemaya lisithi: Bazithobile; kangiyikubabhubhisa, kodwa ngizabanika isilinganiso sokukhululwa, lolaka lwami kaluyikuthululelwa eJerusalema ngesandla sikaShishaki.
When Yahweh realized that they had humbled themselves, he gave this message to Shemaiah: “Because they have humbled themselves, I will not allow them to be destroyed. Instead, I will soon rescue them. I will not use Shishak’s army to completely destroy the people of Jerusalem,
8 Kodwa bazakuba zinceku zakhe ukuze bazi inkonzo yami lenkonzo yemibuso yamazwe.
but they will conquer Jerusalem and force the people there to do what Shishak wants them to do. As a result, the people of Jerusalem will learn [that it is better] to serve me than to serve the kings of other countries.”
9 Ngakho uShishaki inkosi yeGibhithe wenyukela eJerusalema, wathatha okuligugu kwendlu kaJehova lokuligugu kwendlu yenkosi, wathatha konke; wathatha lezihlangu zegolide uSolomoni ayezenzile.
When Shishak’s [army] attacked Jerusalem, they took/carried away the valuable things that were in the temple of Yahweh and the valuable things that were in the king’s palace. They took everything [that was valuable], including the gold shields that Solomon’s [workers] had made.
10 Inkosi uRehobhowamu yasisenza izihlangu zethusi endaweni yazo, yazinikela ngaphansi kwesandla senduna zabalindi ababegcina umnyango wendlu yenkosi.
So King Rehoboam’s workers made bronze shields to be used instead of the gold ones and gave the bronze shields to the commanders of the men who guarded the entrance to his palace.
11 Kwasekusithi lapho inkosi ingena endlini kaJehova bafika abalindi bezithwele, bazibuyisela ekamelweni labalindi.
After that, whenever the king went to the temple, the guards went with him, carrying those bronze shields. Then [when the king left, ] they would return the shields to the guards’ room.
12 Isizithobile, ulaka lweNkosi lwaphenduka lwasuka kuyo ukuze ingayibhubhisi ngokuphelelelyo; futhi lakoJuda kwakulezinto ezinhle.
Because Rehoboam humbled himself, Yahweh stopped being angry with him and did not get rid of him. Instead, he caused good things to happen in Judah.
13 Inkosi uRehobhowamu yasiziqinisa eJerusalema, yabusa. Ngoba uRehobhowamu wayeleminyaka engamatshumi amane lanye lapho esiba yinkosi, wabusa iminyaka elitshumi lesikhombisa eJerusalema, umuzi iNkosi eyayiwukhethile phakathi kwazo zonke izizwe zakoIsrayeli, ukubeka ibizo layo khona. Lebizo likanina lalinguNahama umAmonikazi.
King Rehoboam again was in complete control in Jerusalem and continued to be the king [of Judah]. He was 41 years old when he became the king. He ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem, which is the city that Yahweh had chosen from all the tribes in Israel to be the place in which people were to worship him.
14 Wasesenza okubi ngoba engalungisanga inhliziyo yakhe ukudinga iNkosi.
Rehoboam’s mother’s name was Naamah. She was from the Ammon people-group. Rehoboam did evil things because he did not try to find out what Yahweh wanted him to do.
15 Lendaba zikaRehobhowamu, ezokuqala lezokucina, kazibhalwanga yini ezindabeni zikaShemaya umprofethi lezikaIdo umboni mayelana lemibhalo yosendo, lezimpi zikaRehobhowamu loJerobhowamu zonke izinsuku?
An account of all the things that Rehoboam did while he was the king, and lists of the members of his family, are in the scrolls written by the prophets Shemaiah and Iddo. The armies of Rehoboam and Jeroboam were constantly fighting each other.
16 URehobhowamu waselala laboyise, wangcwatshelwa emzini kaDavida. UAbhiya indodana yakhe wasesiba yinkosi esikhundleni sakhe.
When Rehoboam died, he was buried in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’. Then his son Abijah became the king.
