John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 1. Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel , etc.] That is, in the third year of his rebelling against the king of Assyria, when he shook off his yoke, and refused to be tributary to him any longer, (see 2 Kings 17:1), [that] Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign ; having finished the account of the kingdom of Israel, and the captivity of the people, the historian returns to the kingdom of Judah, and the things of it.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-8 - Hezekiah was a true son of David. Some others did that which was right but not like David. Let us not suppose that when times and men are bad they must needs grow worse and worse; that does not follow: after man bad kings, God raised one up like David himself. The brazen serpent ha been carefully preserved, as a memorial of God's goodness to their fathers in the wilderness; but it was idle and wicked to burn incens to it. All helps to devotion, not warranted by the word of God interrupt the exercise of faith; they always lead to superstition an other dangerous evils. Human nature perverts every thing of this kind True faith needs not such aids; the word of God, daily thought upon an prayed over, is all the outward help we need.
Original Hebrew ויהי1961 בשׁנת8141 שׁלשׁ7969 להושׁע1954 בן1121 אלה425 מלך4428 ישׂראל3478 מלך4427 חזקיה2396 בן1121 אחז271 מלך4428 יהודה׃3063
