The Message Bible MSG
King James Version KJV
1 By the time Rehoboam had secured his kingdom and was strong again, he, and all Israel with him, had virtually abandoned God and his ways.
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And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him.
2 In Rehoboam's fifth year, because he and the people were unfaithful to God, Shishak king of Egypt invaded as far as Jerusalem.
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And it came to pass, that in the fifth year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD,
3 He came with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 cavalry, and soldiers from all over - the Egyptian army included Libyans, Sukkites, and Ethiopians.
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With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians.
4 They took the fortress cities of Judah and advanced as far as Jerusalem itself.
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And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem.
5 Then the prophet Shemaiah, accompanied by the leaders of Judah who had retreated to Jerusalem before Shishak, came to Rehoboam and said, "God's word: You abandoned me; now I abandon you to Shishak."
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Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.
6 The leaders of Israel and the king were repentant and said, "God is right."
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Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous.
7 When God saw that they were humbly repentant, the word of God came to Shemaiah: "Because they are humble, I'll not destroy them - I'll give them a break; I won't use Shishak to express my wrath against Jerusalem.
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And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.
8 What I will do, though, is make them Shishak's subjects - they'll learn the difference between serving me and serving human kings."
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Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
9 Then Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. He plundered the treasury of The Temple of God and the treasury of the royal palace - he took everything he could lay his hands on. He even took the gold shields that Solomon had made.
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So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he took all: he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
10 King Rehoboam replaced the gold shields with bronze shields and gave them to the guards who were posted at the entrance to the royal palace.
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Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard, that kept the entrance of the king's house.
11 Whenever the king went to God's Temple, the guards went with him carrying the shields, but they always returned them to the guardroom.
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And when the king entered into the house of the LORD, the guard came and fetched them, and brought them again into the guard chamber.
12 Because Rehoboam was repentant, God's anger was blunted, so he wasn't totally destroyed. The picture wasn't entirely bleak - there were some good things going on in Judah.
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And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether: and also in Judah things went well.
13 King Rehoboam regrouped and reestablished his rule in Jerusalem. He was forty-one years old when he became king and continued as king for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city God chose out of all the tribes of Israel as the special presence of his Name. His mother was Naamah from Ammon.
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So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.
14 But the final verdict on Rehoboam was that he was a bad king - God was not important to him; his heart neither cared for nor sought after God.
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And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.
15 The history of Rehoboam, from start to finish, is written in the memoirs of Shemaiah the prophet and Iddo the seer that contain the family trees. There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam the whole time.
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Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
16 Rehoboam died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Abijah ruled after him.
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And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The King James Version is in the public domain.