1. Hezekiah son of Ahaz became king of Judah in the third year of Hoshea's rule in Israel.
2. Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled twenty-nine years from Jerusalem. His mother Abi was the daughter of Zechariah.
3. Hezekiah obeyed the Lord, just as his ancestor David had done.
4. He destroyed the local shrines, then tore down the images of foreign gods and cut down the sacred pole for worshipping the goddess Asherah. He also smashed the bronze snake Moses had made. The people had named it Nehushtan and had been offering sacrifices to it.
5. Hezekiah trusted the Lord God of Israel. No other king of Judah was like Hezekiah, either before or after him.
6. He was completely faithful to the Lord and obeyed the laws the Lord had given to Moses for the people.
7. The Lord helped Hezekiah, so he was successful in everything he did. He even rebelled against the king of Assyria, refusing to be his servant.