2 Kings 18:1-12

1 Now it came about in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. ³ He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with everything that his father David had done. ⁴ He removed the high places and smashed the memorial stones to pieces, and cut down the ^[a]Asherah. He also crushed to pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel had been burning incense to it; and it was called ^[b]Nehushtan. ⁵ He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; and after him there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who came before him. ⁶ For he clung to the Lord; he did not desist from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁷ And the Lord was with him; wherever he went he was successful. And he revolted against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. ⁸ He ^[c]defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.

⁹ Now in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and besieged it. ¹⁰ And at the end of three years they captured it; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was captured. ¹¹ Then the king of Assyria led Israel into exile to Assyria, and put them in Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. ¹² This happened because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, but violated His covenant, all that Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded; they would neither listen nor do it.