Rehoboam

18And Rehoboam took him Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David to wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse;

Rehoboam married Mahalath. Her father was Jerimoth, a son of David. Her mother was Abihail, daughter of Eliab, who was Jesse's son.

19Which bare him children; Jeush, and Shamariah, and Zaham.

She gave him sons named Jeush, Shamariah, and Zaham.

20And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; which bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.

Later he married Maachah, the daughter of Absalom. She gave him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

21And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines; and begat twenty and eight sons, and threescore daughters.)

Rehoboam loved Maachah more than any of his other wives. He had eighteen wives and sixty other women who lived as his wives. He had twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

22And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the chief, to be ruler among his brethren: for he thought to make him king.

Rehoboam made Abijah, Maachah's son, the leader of his brothers. He planned to make Abijah the next king.

23And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance. And he desired many wives.

Rehoboam acted wisely. He sent his sons to live all over Judah and Benjamin. He sent them to every city with strong walls. He gave them plenty of food. He also found many wives for them.

1And 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.

Rehoboam became a strong king with firm control. Then he stopped obeying God's law. All Israel stopped obeying too.

2And 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,

In Rehoboam's fifth year as king, Shishak, the king of Egypt, attacked Jerusalem. This happened because the people had not been faithful to the LORD.

3With 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.

Shishak came with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 men on horses. Too many soldiers came with him from Egypt to count. Among them were Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites.

4And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem.

He captured the walled cities of Judah. Then he came all the way to Jerusalem.

5Then 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.

Shemaiah was a prophet, someone who told people what God said. He came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah. They had gathered in Jerusalem because of Shishak. Shemaiah said, "The LORD says this: 'You left me. So I have left you in Shishak's hands.'"

6Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous.

Then the leaders of Israel and the king made themselves humble. They said, "The LORD is right in what he does."

7And 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.

The LORD saw that they had made themselves humble. So the LORD spoke to Shemaiah again. He said, "They have made themselves humble. I will not destroy them. I will rescue them soon. My anger will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.

8Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.

But they will have to serve Shishak. Then they will learn the difference. Serving me is not the same as serving kings of other lands."

9So 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.

So Shishak, the king of Egypt, attacked Jerusalem. He took the treasures from the LORD's temple and from the king's palace. He took everything. He even took the gold shields that Solomon had made.

10Instead 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.

So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them. He gave them to the officers who guarded the palace door.

11And when the king entered into the house of the LORD, the guard came and fetched them, and brought them again into the guard chamber.

Whenever the king went into the LORD's temple, the guards carried the shields. Afterward they put them back in the guardroom.

12And 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.

Because Rehoboam made himself humble, the LORD stopped being angry with him. God did not destroy him completely. Things went well in Judah.

13So 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.

So King Rehoboam ruled firmly in Jerusalem. He was forty-one years old when he became king. He ruled seventeen years in Jerusalem. The LORD had chosen that city out of all the tribes of Israel. He chose it as the place for his name. Rehoboam's mother was named Naamah, from the land of Ammon.

14And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.

Rehoboam did what was evil. He did not set his heart on looking for the LORD.

15Now 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.

The things Rehoboam did, from start to finish, are written down. They are in the records of Shemaiah the prophet and Iddo the seer. Those records also list family lines. Rehoboam and Jeroboam fought each other the whole time.

16And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.

Rehoboam died and joined his ancestors. He was buried in the City of David. His son Abijah became king after him.