2 Chronicles 12
New King James Version
Egypt Attacks Judah(A)
12 Now (B)it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, that (C)he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel along with him. 2 (D)And it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the Lord, 3 with twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and people without number who came with him out of Egypt—(E)the Lubim and the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians. 4 And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came to Jerusalem.
5 Then (F)Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah, who were gathered together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord: ‘You have forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak.’ ”
6 So the leaders of Israel and the king (G)humbled themselves; and they said, (H)“The Lord is righteous.”
7 Now when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, (I)the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance. My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. 8 Nevertheless (J)they will be his servants, that they may distinguish (K)My service from the service of the kingdoms of the nations.”
9 (L)So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house; he took everything. He also carried away the gold shields which Solomon had (M)made. 10 Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and committed them (N)to the hands of the captains of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. 11 And whenever the king entered the house of the Lord, the guard would go and bring them out; then they would take them back into the guardroom. 12 When he humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and things also went well in Judah.
The End of Rehoboam’s Reign(O)
13 Thus King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Now (P)Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king; and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, (Q)the city which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. His mother’s name was Naamah, an (R)Ammonitess. 14 And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.
15 The acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, (S)and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? (T)And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 16 So Rehoboam [a]rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. Then (U)Abijah[b] his son reigned in his place.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 12:16 Died and joined his ancestors
- 2 Chronicles 12:16 Abijam, 1 Kin. 14:31
2 Chronicles 12
Complete Jewish Bible
12 But in time, after Rechav‘am had consolidated his rulership and had become strong, he, and with him all Isra’el, abandoned the Torah of Adonai. 2 In the fifth year of King Rechav‘am, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Yerushalayim, because they had acted faithlessly toward Adonai. 3 He came out of Egypt with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen and a numberless army including Luvim, Suki’im and Ethiopians. 4 He captured the fortified cities of Y’hudah, then went to Yerushalayim.
5 Now Sh’ma‘yah the prophet came to Rechav‘am and the leaders of Y’hudah who had gathered in Yerushalayim because of Shishak and said to them, “Here is what Adonai says: ‘Because you have abandoned me, I have abandoned you to the hands of Shishak.’” 6 In response, the leaders of Isra’el and the king humbled themselves; they said, “Adonai is right.” 7 When Adonai saw that they had humbled themselves, this word of Adonai came to Sh’ma‘yah: “Because they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will grant them a measure of deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Yerushalayim through Shishak. 8 However, they will become his slaves, so that they will come to appreciate the difference between serving me and serving earthly kingdoms.”
9 So Shishak king of Egypt attacked Yerushalayim. He took the treasures in the house of Adonai and the treasures in the royal palace — he took everything, including the gold shields Shlomo had made. 10 To replace them, King Rechav‘am made shields of bronze, which he entrusted to the commanders of the contingent guarding the gate to the royal palace. 11 Whenever the king went to the house of Adonai, the guard would come and get the shields; later they would return them to the guardroom.
12 After he humbled himself, the anger of Adonai turned away from him, so that he did not altogether destroy him; moreover, some good things were found in Y’hudah. 13 So King Rechav‘am consolidated his rule in Yerushalayim.
Rechav‘am was forty-one years old when he began his reign; and he ruled seventeen years in Yerushalayim, the city Adonai had chosen from all the tribes of Isra’el to bear his name; his mother’s name was Na‘amah the ‘Amonit. 14 He did what was evil, because he had not set his heart on seeking Adonai. 15 The activities of Rechav‘am from beginning to end are written in the genealogically organized histories of Sh’ma‘yah the prophet and ‘Iddo the seer. But there were continual wars between Rechav‘am and Yarov‘am. 16 Rechav‘am slept with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Then Aviyah his son became king in his place.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.