1Once Rehoboam was secure on the throne and was sure of his power, he together with all the Israelites abandoned the law of the Lord.

2In the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign, Shishak, king of Egypt, came and attacked Jerusalem because they had been unfaithful to God.

3He came with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and an army from Egypt that couldn't be counted—Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites.

4He conquered the fortified towns of Judah and then approached Jerusalem.

5Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who had run for safety to Jerusalem because of Shishak. He told them, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to Shishak.’”

6The leaders of Israel and the king admitted they were wrong and said, “The Lord is right.”

7When the Lord saw that they had repented, he sent a message to Shemaiah, saying, “They have repented. I won't destroy them, and I will soon save them. My anger won't be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.

8Even so they will become his subjects, so that they can learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of earth.”

9King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took the treasures of the Lord's Temple and the treasures of the royal palace. He took away everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made.

10Later Rehoboam replaced them with bronze shields and gave them to be looked after by the commanders of the guard stationed at the entrance to the royal palace.

11Whenever the king would enter the Temple of the Lord the guards would go with him, carrying the shields, and then take them back to the guardroom.

12Because Rehoboam repented, the anger of the Lord did not fall on him, and the Lord did not destroy him completely. Things went well in Judah.

13King Rehoboam became powerful in Jerusalem. He was forty-one when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel where he would be honored. The name of his mother was Naamah the Ammonite.

14But Rehoboam did what was evil because he did not commit himself to following the Lord.

15What Rehoboam did, from beginning to end, is written down in the records of Shemaiah the Prophet and of Iddo the Seer dealing with genealogies. However, Rehoboam and Jeroboam were always at war with each other.

16Rehoboam died and was buried in the City of David. His son Abijah took over as king.