Rehoboam’s Reign over Judah

²¹ Now Rehoboam son of Solomon ruled in Judah. He^[a] 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.^[b] His mother was an Ammonite woman^[c] named Naamah.

²² Judah did evil in the sight of^[d] the Lord. They made him more jealous by their sins than their ancestors had done.^{[e] 23} They even built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. ²⁴ There were also male cultic prostitutes^[f] in the land. They committed the same horrible sins as the nations^[g] that the Lord had driven out from before the Israelites.

²⁵ In King Rehoboam’s fifth year, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. ²⁶ He took away the treasures of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace; he took everything, including all the golden shields that Solomon had made. ²⁷ King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned them to the officers of the royal guard^[h] who protected the entrance to the royal palace. ²⁸ Whenever the king visited the Lord’s temple, the royal guard carried them and then brought them back to the guardroom.

²⁹ The rest of the events of Rehoboam’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.^{[i] 30} Rehoboam and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other. ³¹ Rehoboam passed away^[j] and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His mother was an Ammonite named Naamah. His son Abijah^[k] replaced him as king.