Rehoboam Reigns over Judah^(A)

²¹ Meanwhile, Solomon’s son Rehoboam reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city where the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to place his Name. His mother was an Ammonite named Naamah. ²² Judah practiced what the Lord considered to be evil. They did more to provoke him to jealousy than their ancestors had ever done by committing the sins that they committed. ²³ They erected high places, sacred pillars, and Asherim^[a] for themselves on every high hill and under every green tree. ²⁴ They even maintained male shrine prostitutes throughout the land, and imitated every detestable practice that the nations practiced whom the Lord had expelled in front of the Israelis.

²⁵ As a result, during the fifth year of the reign of^[b] King Rehoboam, King Shishak of Egypt invaded and attacked Jerusalem. ²⁶ He stripped the Lord’s Temple and the royal palace of their treasures. He took everything, even the gold shields that Solomon had made. ²⁷ King Rehoboam made shields out of bronze to take their place, and then committed them to the care and custody of the commanders of those who guarded the entrance to the royal palace. ²⁸ Whenever the king entered the Lord’s Temple, the guards would carry them to and from the guard’s quarters.

²⁹ As to the rest of Rehoboam’s accomplishments, and everything else that he undertook, they are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, aren’t they? ³⁰ There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam, ³¹ but eventually Rehoboam died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His mother’s name had been Naamah the Ammonite, and his son Abijah became king to replace him.