Hezekiah Reigns in Judah
1 1In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel,
2Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign.
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He was
3twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was
4Abi the daughter of Zechariah.
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5And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.
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6He removed the high places and broke the
7pillars and cut down
8the Asherah. And he broke in pieces
9the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).
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10He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel,
11so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.
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12For he held fast to the LORD. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses.
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13And the LORD was with him; wherever he went out,
14he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him.
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15He struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory,
16from watchtower to fortified city.