Dual Panel1But when Rehoboam was firmly established and strong, he abandoned the law of the LORD, and all Israel followed him in this sin.
2Because they were unfaithful to the LORD, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign.
3He came with twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and a countless army of foot soldiers, including Libyans, Sukkites, and Ethiopians.
4Shishak conquered Judah’s fortified cities and then advanced to attack Jerusalem.
5The 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."
6The king and the leaders of Israel humbled themselves and said, "The LORD is right in doing this to us!"
7When 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.
8But they will become his subjects, so that they can learn how much better it is to serve me than to serve earthly rulers."
9So King Shishak of Egypt came to Jerusalem and took away all the treasures of the Temple of the LORD and of the royal palace, including all of Solomon’s gold shields.
10King Rehoboam later replaced them with bronze shields and entrusted them to the care of the captain of his bodyguard.
11Whenever the king went to the Temple of the LORD, the guards would carry them along and then return them to the guardroom.
12Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the LORD’s anger was turned aside, and he did not destroy him completely. And there was still goodness in the land of Judah.
13King Rehoboam firmly established himself in Jerusalem and continued to rule. He was forty–one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from among all the tribes of Israel as the place to honor his name. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah, a woman from Ammon.
14But he was an evil king, for he did not seek the LORD with all his heart.
15The rest of the events of Rehoboam’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Record of Shemaiah the Prophet and in The Record of Iddo the Seer, which are part of the genealogical record. Rehoboam and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other.
16When Rehoboam died, he was buried in the City of David. Then his son Abijah became the next king.