Shishak Attacks Jerusalem
1Rehoboam had made his position as king secure. He had become very strong. Then he turned away from the law of the Lord. So did all the people of Judah. 2They hadn’t been faithful to the Lord. So Shishak attacked Jerusalem. It was in the fifth year that Rehoboam was king. Shishak was king of Egypt. 3He came with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. Troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites came with him from Egypt. There were so many of them they couldn’t be counted. 4Shishak captured the cities of Judah that had high walls around them. He came all the way to Jerusalem.
5Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah. They had gathered together in Jerusalem. They were afraid of Shishak. Shemaiah said to them, “The Lord says, ‘You have left me. So now I am leaving you to Shishak.’ ”
6The king and the leaders of Israel made themselves humble in the Lord’s sight. They said, “The Lord does what is right and fair.”
7The Lord saw they had made themselves humble. So he gave a message to Shemaiah. The Lord said, “They have made themselves humble in my sight. So I will not destroy them. Instead, I will soon save them. Even though I am very angry with Jerusalem, I will not use Shishak to destroy them. 8But the people of Jerusalem will be brought under his control. Then they will learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.”
9Shishak, the king of Egypt, attacked Jerusalem. He carried away the treasures of the Lord’s temple. He also carried the treasures of the royal palace away. He took everything. That included the gold shields Solomon had made. 10So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to take their place. He gave them to the commanders of the guards who were on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. 11Every time the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards went with him. They carried the shields. Later, they took them back to the room where they were kept.
12Rehoboam had made himself humble in the Lord’s sight. So the Lord turned his anger away from him. Rehoboam wasn’t totally destroyed. In fact, some good things happened in Judah.
13King Rehoboam had made his position secure in Jerusalem. He continued as king. He was 41 years old when he became king. He ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem. It was the city the Lord had chosen out of all the cities in the tribes of Israel. He wanted to put his Name there. The name of Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah from Ammon. 14Rehoboam did what was evil. That’s because he hadn’t worshiped the Lord with all his heart.
15The events of Rehoboam’s rule from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the records of Shemaiah and Iddo, the prophets. The records deal with family histories. Rehoboam and Jeroboam were always at war with each other. 16Rehoboam joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the City of David. Rehoboam’s son Abijah became the next king after him.
埃及侵犯猶大
1羅波安王位穩定、國勢強盛後，就離棄耶和華的律法，以色列人也都隨從他。 2羅波安王執政第五年，埃及王示撒上來攻打耶路撒冷，因為猶大君民對耶和華不忠。 3示撒率領一千二百輛戰車、六萬騎兵及無數的路比人、蘇基人和古實人。 4他攻陷了猶大的堅城，直逼耶路撒冷。
5那時，猶大各首領因為戰事都聚集在耶路撒冷。示瑪雅先知去見羅波安和眾首領，對他們說：「耶和華說，『你們背棄了我，所以我也要離棄你們，把你們交在示撒手中。』」 6王與以色列的眾首領聽了，就謙卑下來說：「耶和華是公義的。」 7耶和華見他們謙卑下來，就對示瑪雅說：「既然他們謙卑下來，我就不滅絕他們，給他們留一條生路。我也不會藉示撒向耶路撒冷傾倒我的憤怒。 8然而，他們必做示撒的僕人，好讓他們體驗事奉我和服侍世上的君王的不同。」
9埃及王示撒帶兵攻陷了耶路撒冷，把耶和華殿裡和王宮裡的財寶及所羅門造的金盾牌擄掠一空。 10羅波安王就造了銅盾牌代替金盾牌，交給看守宮門的護衛長看管。 11每次王進耶和華的殿，護衛兵就帶上盾牌，用完後放回護衛房。 12王謙卑下來後，耶和華便不再向他發怒，沒有將他完全毀滅。況且，在猶大還有一些善事。
羅波安逝世
13羅波安王在耶路撒冷鞏固了自己的勢力，繼續做王。他四十一歲登基，在耶路撒冷執政十七年。耶和華從以色列眾支派中選擇耶路撒冷作為立祂名的城。羅波安的母親叫拿瑪，是亞捫人。 14羅波安行為邪惡，因為他不專心尋求耶和華。
15他執政期間的事件自始至終都記在示瑪雅先知和易多先見的史記上。羅波安與耶羅波安之間常有爭戰。 16羅波安與祖先同眠後，葬在大衛城。他兒子亞比雅繼位。
