18:1 In the third year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became king over Judah. 18:2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. 1 His mother 2 was Abi, 3 the daughter of Zechariah. 18:3 He did what the Lord approved, just as his ancestor David had done. 4 18:4 He eliminated the high places, smashed the sacred pillars to bits, and cut down the Asherah pole. 5 He also demolished the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for up to that time 6 the Israelites had been offering incense to it; it was called Nehushtan. 7 18:5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; in this regard there was none like him among the kings of Judah either before or after. 8 18:6 He was loyal to 9 the Lord and did not abandon him. 10 He obeyed the commandments which the Lord had given to 11 Moses. 18:7 The Lord was with him; he succeeded in all his endeavors. 12 He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to submit to him. 13 18:8 He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from the watchtower to the city fortress. 14
18:9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah’s reign (it was the seventh year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea, son of Elah), King Shalmaneser of Assyria marched 15 up against Samaria 16 and besieged it.
1 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
2 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
3 tn The parallel passage in 2 Chr 29:1 has “Abijah.”
4 tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the
5 tn The term is singular in the MT but plural in the LXX and other ancient versions. It is also possible to regard the singular as a collective singular, especially in the context of other plural items.
6 tn Heb “until those days.”
7 tn In Hebrew the name sounds like the phrase נְחַשׁ הַנְּחֹשֶׁת (nÿkhash hannÿkhoshet), “bronze serpent.”
8 tn Heb “and after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, and those who were before him.”
9 tn Heb “he hugged.”
10 tn Heb “and did not turn aside from after him.”
11 tn Heb “had commanded.”
12 tn Heb “in all which he went out [to do], he was successful.”
13 tn Heb “and did not serve him.”
14 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 17:9.
15 tn Heb “went” (also in v. 13).
16 map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.