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Egypt Invades Judah

12 But when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the Law of the Lord, and all Israel followed him in this sin. Because they were unfaithful to the Lord, King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign. He came with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horses,[a] and a countless army of foot soldiers, including Libyans, Sukkites, and Ethiopians.[b] Shishak conquered Judah’s fortified towns and then advanced to attack Jerusalem.

The prophet Shemaiah then met with Rehoboam and Judah’s leaders, who had all fled to Jerusalem because of Shishak. Shemaiah told them, “This is what the Lord says: You have abandoned me, so I am abandoning you to Shishak.”

Then the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is right in doing this to us!”

When the Lord saw their change of heart, he gave this message to Shemaiah: “Since the people have humbled themselves, I will not completely destroy them and will soon give them some relief. I will not use Shishak to pour out my anger on Jerusalem. But they will become his subjects, so they will know the difference between serving me and serving earthly rulers.”

So King Shishak of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem. He ransacked the treasuries of the Lord’s Temple and the royal palace; he stole everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. 10 King Rehoboam later replaced them with bronze shields as substitutes, and he entrusted them to the care of the commanders of the guard who protected the entrance to the royal palace. 11 Whenever the king went to the Temple of the Lord, the guards would also take the shields and then return them to the guardroom. 12 Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord’s anger was turned away, and he did not destroy him completely. There were still some good things in the land of Judah.

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Footnotes

  1. 12:3a Or charioteers, or horsemen.
  2. 12:3b Hebrew and Cushites.

Shishak of Egypt Comes Against Judah

12 (A)Now it happened that when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and strong, (B)he and all Israel with him forsook the law of Yahweh. (C)Now it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, because they had been unfaithful to Yahweh, that (D)Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. And the people who came with him from Egypt were without number: (E)the Lubim, the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians. And he captured (F)the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. Now (G)Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and he said to them, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘(H)You have forsaken Me, so I also have forsaken you [a]to Shishak.’” So the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “(I)Yahweh is righteous.”

When Yahweh saw that they humbled themselves, the word of Yahweh came to Shemaiah, saying, “(J)They have humbled themselves so I will not bring them to ruin, but I will grant them some measure of escape, and (K)My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. But they will become his slaves so (L)that they may know the difference between My slavery and the slavery of the kingdoms of the countries.”

Shishak Takes from Yahweh’s House

(M)So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took the treasures of the house of Yahweh and the treasures of the king’s house. He took everything; (N)he even took the shields of gold which Solomon had made. 10 Then King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place and committed them to the hand of the commanders of the [b]guard who kept the door of the king’s house. 11 Now it happened that as often as the king entered the house of Yahweh, the [c]guards would come and carry them and then bring them back into the [d]guards’ room. 12 And (O)when he humbled himself, the anger of Yahweh turned away from him, so as not to ruin him completely; and also conditions (P)were good in Judah.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 12:5 Lit in the hand of
  2. 2 Chronicles 12:10 Lit runners
  3. 2 Chronicles 12:11 Lit runners
  4. 2 Chronicles 12:11 Lit runners