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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 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. 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. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, like everything that his father David had done. 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]

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. He held fast to the Lord. He did not turn aside from following him, but he kept the command which the Lord commanded Moses. 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. He struck down the Philistines all the way to Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.

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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 words for bronze and for snake.