Hezekiah Son of Ahaz, King of Judah

18 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah, became king. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi^[a] daughter of Zechariah. ³ He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, like everything that his father David had done. ⁴ He removed the high places, smashed the sacred memorial stones, cut down the Asherah poles, and broke into pieces the bronze serpent which Moses had made, because until those days the people of Israel had been burning incense to it. They called it Nehushtan.^[b]

⁵ He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, and there was no one like him among the kings of Judah, before him or after him. ⁶ He held fast to the Lord. He did not turn aside from following him, but he kept the command which the Lord commanded Moses. ⁷ The Lord was with him. Wherever he went, the Lord gave him success. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. ⁸ He struck down the Philistines all the way to Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.