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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) Hezekiah trusted in and relied confidently on the Lord, the God of Israel; so that after him there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. For he clung to the Lord; he did not turn away from [faithfully] following Him, but he kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses.

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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 removed(A) the high places,(B) smashed the sacred stones(C) and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake(D) Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.[a])

Hezekiah trusted(E) 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. He held fast(F) to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 18:4 Nehushtan sounds like the Hebrew for both bronze and snake.