Hezekiah Reigns in Judah^(A)

18 Now it came to pass in the third year of ^(B)Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that ^(C)Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^(D)Abi^[a] the daughter of Zechariah. ³ And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.

^4 (E)He removed the ^[b]high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the ^[c]wooden image and broke in pieces the ^(F)bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it ^[d]Nehushtan. ⁵ He ^(G)trusted in the Lord God of Israel, ^(H)so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. ⁶ For he ^(I)held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁷ The Lord ^(J)was with him; he ^(K)prospered wherever he went. And he ^(L)rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. ^8 (M)He ^[e]subdued the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory, ^(N)from watchtower to fortified city.