12 However, after Rehav’am (Rehoboam) had become established and in firm control of his kingdom, he and all the people abandoned Yahweh’s instructions. 2 ⇔Because they were unfaithful to Yahweh, King Shishak from Mitsrayim (Egypt) came to attack Yerushalem (Jerusalem) in the fifth year of Rehav’am’s reign, 3 with 1,200 chariots and sixty thousand horsemen, along with a huge number of troops, including Mitsrim (Egyptians), Luvim (Libyans), Sukim, and Kushim. 4 He captured Yehudah’s (Judah’s) fortified cities, then moved towards Yerushalem.

5 Then the prophet Shemayah and the leaders of Yehudah who’d fled to Yerushalem because of Shishak’s attacks came to Rehav’am. Shemayah told them, “Yahweh says that it was you people who abandoned me, so now I’ve also abandoned you to be defeated by Shishak.”

6 Then the king and the Israeli leaders humbled themselves and said, “Yahweh always does what’s right and fair.”

7 When Yahweh saw that they’d humbled themselves, he gave this message to Shemayah, “They’ve humbled themselves, so I won’t destroy them—my rage won’t pour out on Yerushalem through Shishak’s attack, and I’ll give them a way to recover in the future. 8 Nevertheless, they’ll become his servants, and they’ll learn the difference between serving me versus serving other nations’ kings.

9 When Mitsrayim’s (Egypt’s) King Shishak invaded Yerushalem, he took the treasures from Yahweh’s temple and the king’s palace. He took everything valuable, including the gold shields that Shelomoh (Solomon) had made.[ref] 10 King Rehav’am replaced them with bronze shields, and distributed them to the leaders of the people who guarded the entrance to the king’s palace. 11 After that, whenever the king went to Yahweh’s temple, the guards went with him carrying those bronze shields. Then when the king left again, they’d return them to the guardroom. 12 Because Rehav’am humbled himself, Yahweh stopped being angry with him and didn’t eliminate him, so things were reasonably good in Yehudah (Judah).

13 King Rehav’am consolidated his rule in Yerushalem. He reigned for a total of forty-one years—seventeen of which were from Yerushalem city, which Yahweh had chosen from all the tribes in Yisrael (Israel) as the place to establish his reputation. (Rehav’am’s mother was the Amonit, Na’amah.) 14 Rehav’am did evil things because he didn’t make it his priority to get direction from Yahweh.

15 The account of everything Rehav’am did while he was king, including genealogical records, was recorded in the scrolls written by the prophets Shemayah and Ido. Rehav’am and Yarov’am (Jeroboam) were at war with each other for his entire reign. 16 Then Rehav’am died, he was buried with his ancestors in ‘The City of David’, and his son Aviyah replaced him as king.