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Hezekiah Reigns over Judah

18 Now it happened (A)in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that (B)Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. He was (C)twenty-five years old when he became king; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah. (D)And he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that David his father had done. (E)He took away the high places and shattered the sacred pillars and cut down the [a]Asherah. And he broke in pieces (F)the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel were burning incense to it; and it was called [b]Nehushtan. (G)He trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel; (H)so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. So he (I)clung to Yahweh; he did not turn away from following Him, but kept His commandments, which Yahweh had commanded Moses.

Hezekiah Prospers

(J)And Yahweh was with him; wherever he went he prospered. And (K)he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. (L)He struck the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from (M)watchtower to fortified city.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 18:4 A wooden symbol of a female deity
  2. 2 Kings 18:4 Lit a piece of bronze

Hezekiah King of Judah(A)(B)(C)

18 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah(D) son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years.(E) His mother’s name was Abijah[a] daughter of Zechariah. He did what was right(F) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David(G) had done. He removed(H) the high places,(I) smashed the sacred stones(J) and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake(K) Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.[b])

Hezekiah trusted(L) in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast(M) to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful(N) in whatever he undertook. He rebelled(O) against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. From watchtower to fortified city,(P) he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 18:2 Hebrew Abi, a variant of Abijah
  2. 2 Kings 18:4 Nehushtan sounds like the Hebrew for both bronze and snake.