2 Chronicles 12:1-12

New International Reader's Version

Shishak Attacks Jerusalem

12 Rehoboam had made his position as king secure. He had become very strong. Then he turned away from the law of the Lord. So did all the people of Judah. ² They hadn’t been faithful to the Lord. So Shishak attacked Jerusalem. It was in the fifth year that Rehoboam was king. Shishak was king of Egypt. ³ He came with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. Troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites came with him from Egypt. There were so many of them they couldn’t be counted. ⁴ Shishak captured the cities of Judah that had high walls around them. He came all the way to Jerusalem.

⁵ Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah. They had gathered together in Jerusalem. They were afraid of Shishak. Shemaiah said to them, “The Lord says, ‘You have left me. So now I am leaving you to Shishak.’ ”

⁶ The king and the leaders of Israel made themselves humble in the Lord’s sight. They said, “The Lord does what is right and fair.”

⁷ The Lord saw they had made themselves humble. So he gave a message to Shemaiah. The Lord said, “They have made themselves humble in my sight. So I will not destroy them. Instead, I will soon save them. Even though I am very angry with Jerusalem, I will not use Shishak to destroy them. ⁸ But the people of Jerusalem will be brought under his control. Then they will learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.”

⁹ Shishak, the king of Egypt, attacked Jerusalem. He carried away the treasures of the Lord’s temple. He also carried the treasures of the royal palace away. He took everything. That included the gold shields Solomon had made. ¹⁰ So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to take their place. He gave them to the commanders of the guards who were on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. ¹¹ Every time the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards went with him. They carried the shields. Later, they took them back to the room where they were kept.

¹² Rehoboam had made himself humble in the Lord’s sight. So the Lord turned his anger away from him. Rehoboam wasn’t totally destroyed. In fact, some good things happened in Judah.