Hezekiah Reigns over Judah

18 Now it came about ^(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. ² He was ^(C)twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. ^3 (D)He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with everything that his father David had done. ^4 (E)He removed the high places and smashed the memorial stones to pieces, and cut down the ^[a]Asherah. He also crushed to pieces ^(F)the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel had been burning incense to it; and it was called ^[b]Nehushtan. ^5 (G)He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; and ^(H)after him there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who came before him. ⁶ For he ^(I)clung to the Lord; he did not desist from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses.

Hezekiah Victorious

^7 (J)And the Lord was with him; wherever he went he was successful. And ^(K)he revolted against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. ^8 (L)He ^[c]defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from ^(M)watchtower to fortified city.