Then. — And.
Shemaiah the prophet. — The section relating to his mission and its results (2 Chronicles 12:5-8) is peculiar to the chronicle.
The princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem. — Repulsed by the Egyptian arms, they had fallen back upon Jerusalem, to defend the capital. While the invading host lay before the city, Shemaiah addressed the king and princes.
Ye have forsaken. — There is emphasis on the pronoun. Literally, Ye have forsaken me, and I also have forsaken you, in (into) the hand of Shishak. The phrase “to leave into the hand” of a foe occurs Nehemiah 9:28. (Comp. also 2 Chronicles 15:2; 2 Chronicles 24:20; and Deuteronomy 31:16-17.) Here the words amount to a menace of utter destruction. (Comp. Jonah 3:4.)