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2
Chronicles Chapter Twelve
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 12
Rehoboam
and his people forsaking the law of the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt is allowed
by God to invade his land, and take his fenced cities, 2 Chronicles 12:1,
upon which a prophet of the Lord was sent to him and his princes, to show them
the reason of it; whereupon they humbled themselves, and the Lord was pleased
not to allow the enemy utterly to destroy them, yet to reduce them to
servitude, and take away their riches, 2 Chronicles 12:5,
and the chapter is closed with an account of the reign and death of Rehoboam, 2 Chronicles 12:13.
2 Chronicles
12:1 Now it came to
pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself,
that he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel along
with him.
YLT
1And it cometh to pass, at
the establishing of the kingdom of Rehoboam, and at his strengthening himself,
he hath forsaken the law of Jehovah, and all Israel with him.
And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom,.... Or when
the kingdom of Rehoboam was established; the tribes of Judah and Benjamin being
firmly attached to him, and great numbers from the other tribes coming over to
him, and things going on peaceably and prosperously during the three years that
he and his people abode by the pure worship of God:
and had strengthened himself; built fortified cities
for the defence of himself and kingdom, 2 Chronicles 11:5,
he forsook the law of the Lord; after he had reigned three years, and was
become strong, and thought himself safe and secure on the throne, trusting to
his strength:
and all Israel with him; the greater part of them
following the example of their king; of this defection, and the sins they fell
into, see 1 Kings 14:22.
2 Chronicles
12:2 2 And
it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of
Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the Lord,
YLT
2And it cometh to pass, in
the fifth year of king Rehoboam, come up hath Shishak king of Egypt against
Jerusalem -- because they trespassed against Jehovah –
And it came to pass in the fifth year of Rehoboam,.... In the
fourth year, the apostasy of him and his people began; and, in the year
following, what is next related happened, as a punishment of it:
Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem; of whom see 1 Kings 11:40,
because they transgressed against the Lord; transgressed
the law of the Lord by falling into idolatry and other abominable evils; the
Targum is,"against the Word of the Lord.'
2 Chronicles
12:3 3 with
twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and people without number who
came with him out of Egypt—the Lubim and the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians.
YLT
3with a thousand and two
hundred chariots, and with sixty thousand horsemen, and there is no number to
the people who have come with him out of Egypt -- Lubim, Sukkiim, and Cushim –
With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen; and
the people were without number,.... The foot soldiers; their number,
according to JosephusF8Antiqu. l. 8. c. 10. sect. 2. was 400,000:
that came with him out of Egypt; the above numerous army
came from thence with him, which was famous for horses and chariots of war, see
Exodus 14:7, what
follow seem to have joined him after he came out of Egypt, or whom he subdued
in his way; the Lubim or Lybians, inhabitants of Libya, a country near Egypt
the same with the Lehabim; of whom see Genesis 10:13,
the Sukkiims; who were either the Scenite Arabs, who
dwelt in tents, as this word signifies; or the Troglodytes, according to the
Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, who dwelt in dens and caves, in which
sense the word "Succah" is sometimes used, Job 38:40 and in
their country was a town called Suchae, mentioned by PlinyF9Nat.
Hist. l. 6. c. 29. ; they inhabited near the Red sea; and if Shishak is the
same with Sesostris, as is thought, these people were subdued by him, as
HerodotusF11Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 102. and StraboF12Geograph.
l. 16. p. 529. testify:
and the Ethiopians; some think these were the Cushite Arabs,
and that Sesostris came into Arabia is testified by the above writers; though
rather the proper Ethiopians are meant, since they are joined with the Lubim or
Africans; and since, as HerodotusF13Ut supra, (Euterpe, sive, l. 2.)
c. 110. says, he ruled over Ethiopia; and Diodorus SiculusF14Bibliothec.
l. 1. p. 50. says he fought with them, and obliged them to pay him tribute.
2 Chronicles
12:4 4 And
he took the fortified cities of Judah and came to Jerusalem.
YLT
4and he captureth the cities
of the bulwarks that [are] to Judah, and cometh in unto Jerusalem.
And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah,.... Which
Rehoboam had lately built, and placed his sons in them, 2 Chronicles 11:5,
these he took without any opposition:
and came to Jerusalem; there being no army to
oppose him; and so Sesostris took many countries without fighting, and among
the rest Phoenicia, as ManethoF15Apud Joseph. contr. Apion. l. 1. c.
15. relates, in which Judea may be included.
2 Chronicles 12:5 5 Then Shemaiah the prophet
came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah, who were gathered together in
Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord: ‘You have
forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak.’”
YLT
5And 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;'
Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam,.... The same
as in 2 Chronicles 11:2,
there called the man of God:
and to the princes of Judah that were gathered together to
Jerusalem because of Shishak; through fear of him, and for safety and
protection from him, and to consult what was to be done at this critical
juncture, whether to fight him, or make peace with him on the best terms they
could:
and said unto them, thus saith the Lord, ye have forsaken me; his law, his
word, worship, and ordinances, 2 Chronicles 12:1,
and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak; suffered him to
invade their land, take their fenced cities, and come up to Jerusalem without
any opposition, as a punishment of their apostasy; and to explain this
providence to them, and call them to repentance, was the prophet sent.
2 Chronicles 12:6 6 So the leaders of Israel
and the king humbled themselves; and they said, “The Lord is
righteous.”
YLT
6and the heads of Israel are
humbled, and the king, and they say, `Righteous [is] Jehovah.'
Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves,.... Both by
words acknowledging their sins, and the justice of God, and by deeds, perhaps
putting on sackcloth, as was usual on such occasions, and betaking themselves
to fasting and prayer:
and they said, the Lord is righteous; in giving
them up into the hand of their enemies, seeing they had forsaken him, and
sinned against him.
2 Chronicles 12:7 7 Now 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. My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem
by the hand of Shishak.
YLT
7And 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;
And when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves,.... Though
but externally; the Lord takes notice of external humiliation, as he did of
Ahab's, 1 Kings 21:29,
the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, they have humbled
themselves, therefore I will not destroy them; not now, at least not
altogether, 2 Chronicles 12:12,
but I will grant them some deliverance; yet not a
complete one, for they were brought into servitude by Shishak, 2 Chronicles 12:8,
or only for a short time:
and my wrath shall not be poured out against Jerusalem by the hand
of Shishak; that is, to the uttermost; that was reserved to another time,
and to be done by another hand, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
2 Chronicles 12:8 8 Nevertheless they will be
his servants, that they may distinguish My service from the service of the
kingdoms of the nations.”
YLT
8but they become servants to
him, and they know My service, and the service of the kingdoms of the lands.'
Nevertheless, they shall be his servants,....
tributaries to the king of Egypt:
that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of
the countries; the difference between them, how easy the one, which they might
perform without taxes and tributes, and how hard and heavy the other, through
the exactions and exorbitant demands of those to whom they became subjects.
2 Chronicles 12:9 9 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 everything. He also carried away the
gold shields which Solomon had made.
YLT
9And Shishak king of Egypt
cometh up against Jerusalem, and taketh the treasures of the house of Jehovah,
and the treasures of the house of the king -- the whole he hath taken -- and he
taketh the shields of gold that Solomon had made;
Verses 9-11
So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem,.... The
Vulgate Latin version is,"departed from Jerusalem,'as he did, having taken
it, and spoiled it of its riches, and settled a yearly tax on the inhabitants
of the land; of this, and the two following verses; see Gill on 1 Kings 14:26. 1 Kings 14:27. 1 Kings 14:28.
2 Chronicles 12:10 10 Then King Rehoboam made
bronze shields in their place, and committed them to the hands of the
captains of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house.
YLT
10and king Rehoboam maketh in
their stead shields of brass, and hath given [them] a charge on the hand of the
heads of the runners who are keeping the opening of the house of the king;
2 Chronicles 12:11 11 And whenever the king entered
the house of the Lord,
the guard would go and bring them out; then they would take them back into the
guardroom.
YLT
11and it cometh to pass, from
the time of the going in of the king to the house of Jehovah, the runners have
come in and lifted them up, and brought them back unto the chamber of the
runners.
2 Chronicles 12:12 12 When he humbled himself,
the wrath of the Lord
turned from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and things also
went well in Judah.
YLT
12And in his being humbled, turned
back from him hath the wrath of Jehovah, so as not to destroy to completion;
and also, in Judah there have been good things.
And when he humbled himself,.... That is, Rehoboam;
or broke his heart, as the Targum, was of a contrite spirit seemingly, for it
was merely external:
the wrath of the Lord turned from him; which
appeared by the departure of Shishak's army:
that he would not destroy him altogether; or make an
utter destruction of him and his people:
and also in Judah things went well; prospered and succeeded
after this affair of Shishak was over: or "in Judah there were good
things"F16דברים טובים
"opera bona", V. L. "res bonae", Tigurine version,
Vatablus, Rambachius. ; there were some good men, priests, Levites, and many of
the common people, that did good things, kept up and abode by the pure worship
and service of God; and which was another reason why the Lord would not destroy
them altogether now, see Genesis 18:31.
2 Chronicles 12:13 13 Thus King Rehoboam
strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Now Rehoboam was
forty-one years old when he became king; 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. His mother’s name was Naamah,
an Ammonitess.
YLT
13And king Rehoboam
strengtheneth himself in Jerusalem, and reigneth; for a son of forty and two
years [is] Rehoboam in his reigning, and seventeen years he hath reigned in
Jerusalem, the city that Jehovah hath chosen to put His name there, out of all
the tribes of Israel, and the name of his mother [is] Naamah the Ammonitess,
So Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem,.... Fortified
that yet more for the defence of himself, after Shishak departed:
and reigned; twelve years more, for he reigned in all seventeen, and this was
in his fifth year; of what follows in this verse; see Gill on 1 Kings 14:21.
2 Chronicles 12:14 14 And he did evil, because
he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.
YLT
14and he doth the evil thing,
for he hath not prepared his heart to seek Jehovah.
And he did evil,.... Committed idolatry, relapsed into that,
his humiliation not being hearty and sincere:
because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord; by prayer and
supplication, and by an attendance on the service and worship of God; for
though he did these things outwardly, yet not sincerely and heartily; he did
not engage in them seriously and in good earnest, with affection and fervour.
2 Chronicles 12:15 15 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 all their days.
YLT
15And the matters of
Rehoboam, the first and the last, are they not written among the matters of
Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer, concerning genealogy? And the wars
of Rehoboam and Jeroboam [are] all the days;
Verse 15-16
Now the acts of Rehoboam,.... Of these two verses;
see Gill on 1 Kings 14:29. 1 Kings 14:30. 1 Kings 14:31.
2 Chronicles 12:16 16 So Rehoboam rested with
his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. Then Abijah[a] his son
reigned in his place.
YLT
16and Rehoboam lieth with his
fathers, and is buried in the city of David, and reign doth Abijah his son in
his stead.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)