2 Chronicles 12

NSB(i) 1 Rehoboam established his kingdom and made himself strong. He and all Israel abandoned Jehovah’s teachings. 2 King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. This took place in the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign. It happened because all Israel was not loyal to Jehovah. 3 Shishak had twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horses, and an army of countless Libyans, Sukkites, and Sudanese from Egypt. 4 He captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. 5 Shemaiah the prophet approached Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them: »Jehovah says: ‘You have forsaken me, so I also have forsaken you to Shishak.’« 6 Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said: »Jehovah is righteous.« 7 Jehovah saw that they humbled themselves. The word of Jehovah came to Shemaiah. He said: »They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them. I will grant them deliverance. I will not use Shishak to pour out my anger on Jerusalem. 8 »However, they will become his servants. They must learn the difference between serving me and serving foreign kings.« 9 King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took away the treasures from Jehovah’s temple and the royal palace. He took them all! He even took the gold shields Solomon had made. 10 As a result King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them. He put them by the entrance to the royal palace, where the captains of the guards were stationed. 11 When the king went into Jehovah’s Temple, guards carried the shields and then returned them to the guardroom. 12 When Rehoboam humbled himself, the anger of Jehovah turned from him. He did not completely destroy him. So things went well in Judah.« 13 King Rehoboam strengthened his position in Jerusalem and ruled. He was forty-one years old when he began to rule. He ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that Jehovah chose from all the tribes of Israel, and the city where Jehovah put his name. Rehoboam’s mother was an Ammonite woman named Naamah. 14 He did evil because he did not seriously dedicate his life to Jehovah. 15 The events concerning Rehoboam from first to last are written in the records of the prophet Shemaiah and the records of the seer Iddo in the genealogies? There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam as long as they lived. 16 Rehoboam lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. His son Abijah succeeded him as king.