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He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. Hezekiah did right in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with everything that David his father (ancestor) had done. He removed the high places [of pagan worship], broke down the images (memorial stones) and cut down the Asherim. He also crushed to pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the Israelites had burned incense to it; and it was called [a]Nehushtan [a bronze sculpture].(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 18:4 The bronze serpent had served God’s purpose for it, and Hezekiah observed correctly that it was nothing more than a piece of art. Unfortunately, the Israelites had forgotten that the serpent had been nothing more than a tool of God, and they had been worshiping the sculpture itself as if it were a god.

He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years.(A) His mother’s name was Abijah[a] daughter of Zechariah. He did what was right(B) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David(C) had done. He removed(D) the high places,(E) smashed the sacred stones(F) and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake(G) Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.[b])

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 18:2 Hebrew Abi, a variant of Abijah
  2. 2 Kings 18:4 Nehushtan sounds like the Hebrew for both bronze and snake.