1. Rehoboam became a strong king. He also made his kingdom strong. Then he and the people of Judah stopped obeying the teachings of the Lord.
2. Shishak was the king of Egypt. He attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year Rehoboam was king. This happened because Rehoboam and the people were unfaithful to the Lord.
3. Shishak had 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. He brought troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites from Egypt with him. There were so many they couldn’t be counted.
4. Shishak captured the strong, walled cities of Judah. And he came as far as Jerusalem.
5. Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah. They had gathered in Jerusalem because they were afraid of Shishak. Shemaiah said to them, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have left me. So now I will leave you to face Shishak alone.’”
6. Then the leaders of Judah and King Rehoboam were sorry for what they had done. They said, “The Lord does what is right.”
7. The Lord saw that they were sorry for what they had done. So the Lord spoke his word to Shemaiah. The Lord said, “The king and the leaders are sorry. So I will not destroy them but will save them soon. I will not use Shishak to punish Jerusalem in my anger.
8. But the people of Jerusalem will become Shishak’s servants. Then they may learn that serving me is different than serving the kings of other nations.”
9. Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. He took the treasures from the Temple of the Lord and from the king’s palace. He took everything, even the gold shields Solomon had made.
10. So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to take their place. He gave them to the commanders of the guards for the entrance to the king’s palace.
11. Whenever the king entered the Temple of the Lord, the guards went with him. They would carry the shields. Later, they would put them back in the guard room.
12. When Rehoboam was sorry for what he had done, the Lord held his anger back. So the Lord did not fully destroy Rehoboam. There was some good in Judah.
13. King Rehoboam made himself a strong king in Jerusalem. He was 41 years old when he became king. And he was king in Jerusalem for 17 years. Jerusalem is the city that the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel. He chose to be worshiped in Jerusalem. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah from the country of Ammon.
14. Rehoboam did evil things because he did not want to ask the Lord for help.
15. The things Rehoboam did as king, from the beginning to the end, are written down. They are in the records of Shemaiah the prophet. And they are in the records of Iddo the seer. These men wrote family histories. There were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the time they ruled.
16. Rehoboam died and was buried in Jerusalem. Then Rehoboam’s son Abijah became king.