4. He removed the places where gods were worshiped. He smashed the stone pillars and cut down the Asherah idols. Also the Israelites had been burning incense to Nehushtan, the bronze snake Moses had made. But Hezekiah broke it into pieces.
5. Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him.
6. Hezekiah was loyal to the Lord and did not stop following him; he obeyed the commands the Lord had given Moses.
7. And the Lord was with Hezekiah, so he had success in everything he did. He turned against the king of Assyria and stopped serving him.
8. Hezekiah defeated the Philistines all the way to Gaza and its borders, including the watchtowers and the strong, walled cities.
9. Shalmaneser king of Assyria surrounded Samaria and attacked it in the fourth year Hezekiah was king. This was the seventh year Hoshea son of Elah was king of Israel.
10. After three years the Assyrians captured Samaria. This was in the sixth year Hezekiah was king, which was Hoshea’s ninth year as king of Israel.