18Hezekiah began to rule as king over Judah. It was in the third year that Hoshea was king of Israel. He was the son of Elah. Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz. ²Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother’s name was Abijah. She was the daughter of Zechariah.

³Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as King David had done. ⁴Hezekiah removed the high places. He smashed the sacred stones. He cut down the poles that were used to worship the goddess Asherah. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made. Up to that time the people of Israel had been burning incense to it. They called it Nehushtan.

⁵Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all of the kings of Judah. There was no king like him either before him or after him. ⁶Hezekiah remained true to the Lord. He didn’t stop following him. He obeyed the commands the Lord had given Moses.

⁷The Lord was with Hezekiah. He was successful in everything he did. He refused to remain under the control of the king of Assyria. He didn’t serve him. ⁸He won the war against the Philistines. He won battles at their lookout towers. He won battles at their cities that had high walls around them. He won battles against the Philistines all the way to Gaza and its territory.

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