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.
When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves. Their repentance and contrition were followed by the best effects; because Shemaiah was commissioned to announce that the vial 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; at yet, although it should enjoy a respite from total subversion, it 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.