2 Chronicles 12

Rehoboam Abandons the Instruction of the LORD

1And it happened when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and he was strong that he abandoned the instruction of the LORD, and all Israel with him. 2In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem because they had acted unfaithfully against the LORD, 3with one thousand two hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen. The people who came with him from Egypt were without number: Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites. 4He captured the fortified cities that belonged to Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

Shemaiah Calls Judah to Humble Itself

5Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the officials of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak and said to them, “Thus says the LORD: You abandoned me, so I also have abandoned you into the hand of Shishak.” 6Then the officials of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The LORD is righteous.” 7When the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them, but I will give them a little deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. 8Nevertheless they shall become his servants, so that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the lands.”

Shishak Plunders Jerusalem

9So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem and took the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house. He took everything. He also took the gold shields that Solomon had made. 10King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and entrusted them to the hands of the commanders of the runners who guarded the entrance of the king’s house. 11Whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the runners came and carried them and afterward returned them to the guardroom.

Rehoboam’s Reign Ends

12Because he humbled himself, the anger of the LORD turned from him so as not to destroy him completely. Moreover, there were good things in Judah. 13King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. 14He did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the LORD. 15Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the words of Shemaiah the prophet and Iddo the seer according to genealogical record? There were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 16Rehoboam lay down with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. Abijah his son became king in his place.