Hezekiah King of Judah^(A)

18 Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah became king during the third year Hoshea son of Elah was king of Israel. ² Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ·ruled [reigned] twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ·Abijah [^LAbi; in 2 Chr. 29:1 she is called Abijah] daughter of Zechariah. ³ Hezekiah did ·what the Lord said was right [^Lright in the eyes/sight of the Lord], just as his ·ancestor [father] David had done. ⁴ He removed the ·places where gods were worshiped [^Lhigh places; 12:3]. He smashed the stone pillars and ·cut down [smashed; broke] the Asherah ·idols [poles; ^Ca sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 13:6]. Also the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] had been burning incense to Nehushtan, the bronze ·snake [serpent] Moses had made [Num. 21:9]. But Hezekiah broke it into pieces.

⁵ Hezekiah trusted 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. ⁶ Hezekiah ·was loyal [clung; held fast; remained faithful/devoted] to the Lord and did not ·stop [depart from] following him; he ·obeyed [kept] the commands the Lord had given Moses. ⁷ And the Lord was with Hezekiah, so he ·had success [prospered] in everything he did. He ·turned [rebelled] against the king of Assyria and stopped serving him [^Cstopped paying tribute]. ⁸ Hezekiah defeated the Philistines ·all the way to [as far as] Gaza and its ·borders [territory], ·including [from] the watchtowers and the ·strong, walled [fortified] cities.