2 During the fifth year that Rehoboam was king, Shishak king of Egypt came to attack Jerusalem. This happened because Rehoboam and the people of Judah rebelled against the Lord.
3 Shishak had 1200 chariots, 60,000 horse riders, and an army that no one could count. In Shishak’s large army there were Libyan soldiers, Sukkite soldiers, and Ethiopian soldiers.
4 Shishak defeated the strong cities of Judah. Then Shishak brought his army to Jerusalem.
5 Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah. The leaders of Judah had gathered together in Jerusalem because they all were afraid of Shishak. Shemaiah said to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Rehoboam, you and the people of Judah have left me and refused to obey my law. So now I will leave you to face Shishak without my help.’”
6 Then the leaders of Judah and King Rehoboam were sorry and humbled themselves. They said, “The Lord is right.”
7 The Lord saw that the king and the leaders of Judah had humbled themselves. Then the message from the Lord came to Shemaiah. The Lord said, “The king and the leaders humbled themselves. So I will not destroy them, but I will save them soon. I will not use Shishak to pour out my anger on Jerusalem.
8 But the people of Jerusalem will become Shishak’s servants. This will happen so that they may learn that serving me is different from serving the kings of other nations.”