Rehoboam’s Reign over Judah

14:21 Now Rehoboam son of Solomon ruled in Judah. He29 was forty-one years old when he became king and he ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem,30 the city the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel to be his home.31 His mother was an Ammonite woman32 named Naamah.

14:22 Judah did evil in the sight of33 the Lord. They made him more jealous by their sins than their ancestors had done.34 14:23 They even built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 14:24 There were also male cultic prostitutes35 in the land. They committed the same horrible sins as the nations36 that the Lord had driven out from before the Israelites.

14:25 In King Rehoboam’s fifth year, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. 14:26 He took away the treasures of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace; he took everything, including all the golden shields that Solomon had made. 14:27 King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned them to the officers of the royal guard37 who protected the entrance to the royal palace. 14:28 Whenever the king visited the Lord’s temple, the royal guard carried them and then brought them back to the guardroom.

14:29 The rest of the events of Rehoboam’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the

Kings of Judah.38 14:30 Rehoboam and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other. 14:31 Rehoboam passed away39 and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His mother was an Ammonite named Naamah. His son Abijah40 replaced him as king.