4. Hezekiah destroyed the high places. He broke the memorial stones and cut down the Asherah poles. At that time the Israelites burned incense to the bronze snake made by Moses. This bronze snake was called “Nehushtan.” Hezekiah broke this bronze snake into pieces.
5. Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like Hezekiah among all the kings of Judah before him or after him.
6. He was very faithful to the Lord and did not stop following him. He obeyed the commands that the Lord had given to Moses.
7. The Lord was with Hezekiah, so he was successful in everything he did. Hezekiah broke away from the king of Assyria and stopped serving him.
8. Hezekiah defeated the Philistines all the way to Gaza and the area around it. He defeated all the Philistine cities—from the smallest town to the largest city.
9. King Shalmaneser of Assyria went to fight against Samaria. His army surrounded the city. This happened during the fourth year that Hezekiah was king of Judah. (This was also the seventh year that Hoshea son of Elah was king of Israel.)
10. At the end of the third year, Shalmaneser captured Samaria. He took Samaria during the sixth year that Hezekiah was king of Judah. (This was also the ninth year that Hoshea was king of Israel.)
11. The king of Assyria took the Israelites as prisoners to Assyria. He made them live in Halah, on the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes.
12. This happened because the Israelites did not obey the Lord their God. They broke his agreement and did not obey everything that Moses, the Lord’S servant, had commanded. The Israelites would not listen to the Lord’s agreement, or do what it taught them to do.
13. During Hezekiah’s 14th year as king, King Sennacherib of Assyria went to fight against all the strong cities of Judah. Sennacherib defeated them all.
14. Then King Hezekiah of Judah sent a message to the king of Assyria at Lachish. Hezekiah said, “I have done wrong. Leave me alone, and I will pay whatever you want.” Then the king of Assyria told King Hezekiah of Judah to pay over 11 tons of silver and over 1 ton of gold.