1. Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. This was during the third year Hoshea son of Elah was king of Israel.
2. Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king. And he ruled 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.
3. Hezekiah did what the Lord said was right. He did just as his ancestor David had done.
4. He removed the places where false gods were worshiped. He broke the stone pillars they worshiped. He cut down the Asherah idols. Also the Israelites had been burning incense to the bronze snake made by Moses. (It was called Nehushtan.) 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. There was no king like him, before him or after him.
6. Hezekiah was loyal to the Lord. He did not stop following the Lord. He obeyed the commands the Lord had given Moses.
7. And the Lord was with Hezekiah. 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. He defeated them everywhere, from the watchtower to the strong, walled city.
9. Shalmaneser king of Assyria surrounded Samaria and attacked it. This was in the fourth year Hezekiah was king. And it 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. And it was Hoshea’s ninth year as king of Israel.
11. The king of Assyria took the Israelites away to Assyria. He put them in Halah and in Gozan on the Habor River. He also put them in the cities of the Medes.
12. This happened because they did not obey the Lord their God. They broke his agreement. They did not obey all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded. They would not listen to the commands or do them.
13. During Hezekiah’s fourteenth year as king, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked Judah. He attacked all the strong, walled cities of Judah and defeated them.
14. Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent a message to the king of Assyria at Lachish. He said, “I have done wrong. Leave me alone. Then I will pay anything you demand of me.” So the king of Assyria told Hezekiah how much to pay. It was about 22,000 pounds of silver and 2,000 pounds of gold.
15. Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was in the Temple of the Lord. And he gave him all the silver in the palace treasuries.
16. Hezekiah cut off all the gold that covered the doors of the Temple of the Lord. He also removed the gold from the doorposts. Hezekiah had put gold on these doors himself. He gave it all to the king of Assyria.
17. The king of Assyria sent out his supreme commander, his chief officer and his field commander. They went with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. When they came near the waterway from the upper pool, they stopped. The upper pool is on the road to the Washerman’s Field.
18. They called for the king. So Eliakim, Shebna and Joah went out to meet them. Eliakim son of Hilkiah was the palace manager. Shebna was the royal assistant. And Joah son of Asaph was the recorder.
19. The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this:“‘The great king, the king of Assyria, says: You have nothing to trust in to help you.