5 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 Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous.
7 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 Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
5 Then came H935 Shemaiah H8098 the prophet H5030 to Rehoboam, H7346 and to the princes H8269 of Judah, H3063 that were gathered together H622 to Jerusalem H3389 because H6440 of Shishak, H7895 and said H559 unto them, Thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 Ye have forsaken H5800 me, and therefore have I also H637 left H5800 you in the hand H3027 of Shishak. H7895
6 Whereupon the princes H8269 of Israel H3478 and the king H4428 humbled H3665 themselves; and they said, H559 The LORD H3068 is righteous. H6662
7 And when the LORD H3068 saw H7200 that they humbled H3665 themselves, the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 came to Shemaiah, H8098 saying, H559 They have humbled H3665 themselves; therefore I will not destroy H7843 them, but I will grant H5414 them some H4592 deliverance; H6413 and my wrath H2534 shall not be poured out H5413 upon Jerusalem H3389 by the hand H3027 of Shishak. H7895
8 Nevertheless they shall be his servants; H5650 that they may know H3045 my service, H5656 and the service H5656 of the kingdoms H4467 of the countries. H776
5 Now Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, Ye have forsaken me, therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.
6 Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, Jehovah is righteous.
7 And when Jehovah saw that they humbled themselves, the word of Jehovah came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves: 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 Nevertheless they shall be his servants, that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
5 And Shemaiah the prophet hath come in unto Rehoboam and the heads of Judah who have been gathered unto Jerusalem from the presence of Shishak, and saith to them, `Thus said Jehovah, Ye have forsaken Me, and also, I have left you in the hand of Shishak;'
6 and the heads of Israel are humbled, and the king, and they say, `Righteous `is' Jehovah.'
7 And when Jehovah seeth that they have been humbled, a word of Jehovah hath been unto Shemaiah, saying, `They have been humbled; I do not destroy them, and I have given to them as a little thing for an escape, and I pour not out My fury in Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak;
8 but they become servants to him, and they know My service, and the service of the kingdoms of the lands.'
5 And Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and [to] the princes of Judah that had gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, Thus saith Jehovah: Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.
6 And the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, Jehovah is righteous.
7 And when Jehovah saw that they humbled themselves, the word of Jehovah came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves: I will not destroy them, but I will grant them a little deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.
8 Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
5 Now Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, who were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, Thus says Yahweh, You have forsaken me, therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.
6 Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, Yahweh is righteous.
7 When Yahweh saw that they humbled themselves, the word of Yahweh came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves: I will not destroy them; but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.
8 Nevertheless they shall be his servants, that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
5 Now Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the chiefs of Judah, who had come together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, The Lord has said, Because you have given me up, I have given you up into the hands of Shishak.
6 Then the chiefs of Israel and the king made themselves low and said, The Lord is upright.
7 And the Lord, seeing that they had made themselves low, said to Shemaiah, They have made themselves low: I will not send destruction on them, but in a short time I will give them salvation, and will not let loose my wrath on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.
8 But still they will become his servants, so that they may see how different my yoke is from the yoke of the kingdoms of the lands.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 12
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 12 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 12
2Ch 12:1-12. Rehoboam, Forsaking God, Is Punished by Shishak.
1. when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself—(See on 2Ch 11:17). During the first three years of his reign his royal influence was exerted in the encouragement of the true religion. Security and ease led to religious decline, which, in the fourth year, ended in open apostasy. The example of the court was speedily followed by his subjects, for "all Israel was with him," that is, the people in his own kingdom. The very next year, the fifth of his reign, punishment was inflicted by the invasion of Shishak.
2. Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem—He was the first king of the twenty-second or Bubastic Dynasty. What was the immediate cause of this invasion? Whether it was in resentment for some provocation from the king of Judah, or in pursuance of ambitious views of conquest, is not said. But the invading army was a vast horde, for Shishak brought along with his native Egyptians an immense number of foreign auxiliaries.
3-5. the Lubims—the Libyans of northeastern Africa.
the Sukkiims—Some think these were the Kenite Arabs, dwellers in tents, but others maintain more justly that these were Arab troglodytes, who inhabited the caverns of a mountain range on the western coast of the Red Sea.
and the Ethiopians—from the regions south of Egypt. By the overwhelming force of numbers, they took the fortresses of Judah which had been recently put in a state of defense, and marched to lay siege to the capital. While Shishak and his army was before Jerusalem, the prophet Shemaiah addressed Rehoboam and the princes, tracing this calamity to the national apostasy and threatening them with utter destruction in consequence of having forsaken God (2Ch 12:6).
6. the princes of Israel—(compare 2Ch 12:5, "the princes of Judah").
7, 8. when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves—Their repentance and contrition was followed by the best effects; for Shemaiah was commissioned to announce that the phial of divine judgment would not be fully poured out on them—that the entire overthrow of the kingdom of Judah would not take place at that time, nor through the agency of Shishak; and yet, although it should enjoy a respite from total subversion, [Judah] should become a tributary province of Egypt in order that the people might learn how much lighter and better is the service of God than that of idolatrous foreign despots.
9. So Shishak … came up against Jerusalem—After the parenthetical clause (2Ch 12:5-8) describing the feelings and state of the beleaguered court, the historian resumes his narrative of the attack upon Jerusalem, and the consequent pillage both of the temple and the palace.
he took all—that is, everything valuable he found. The cost of the targets and shields has been estimated at about £239,000 [Napier, Ancient Workers in Metal].
the shields of gold—made by Solomon, were kept in the house of the forest of Lebanon (2Ch 9:16). They seem to have been borne, like maces, by the guards of the palace, when they attended the king to the temple or on other public processions. Those splendid insignia having been plundered by the Egyptian conqueror, others were made of inferior metal and kept in the guard room of the palace, to be ready for use; as, notwithstanding the tarnished glory of the court, the old state etiquette was kept up on public and solemn occasions. An account of this conquest of Judah, with the name of "king of Judah" in the cartouche of the principal captive, according to the interpreters, is carved and written in hieroglyphics on the walls of the great palace of Karnak, where it may be seen at the present day. This sculpture is about twenty-seven hundred years old, and is of peculiar interest as a striking testimony from Egypt to the truth of Scripture history.
12. when he humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him—The promise (2Ch 12:7) was verified. Divine providence preserved the kingdom in existence, a reformation was made in the court, while true religion and piety were diffused throughout the land.
2Ch 12:13-16. His Reign and Death.
13, 14. Rehoboam strengthened … and reigned—The Egyptian invasion had been a mere predatory expedition, not extending beyond the limits of Judah, and probably, ere long, repelled by the invaded. Rehoboam's government acquired new life and vigor by the general revival of true religion, and his reign continued many years after the departure of Shishak. But
he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord—that is, he did not adhere firmly to the good course of reformation he had begun, "and he did evil," for through the unhappy influence of his mother, a heathen foreigner, he had no doubt received in his youth a strong bias towards idolatry (see on 1Ki 14:21).