Joshua 2

1 Then Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two men from Shittim secretly, with the purpose of searching out the land, and Jericho. So they went and came to the house of a loose woman of the town, named Rahab, where they took their rest for the night.

And Joshua the son of Nun sent from Shittim two spies secretly, saying, Go, see the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into a harlot's house, named Rahab, and they lay down there.

2 And it was said to the king of Jericho, See, some men have come here tonight from the children of Israel with the purpose of searching out the land.

And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, men have come hither to-night from the children of Israel to search out the land.

3 Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, Send out the men who have come to you and are in your house; for they have come with the purpose of searching out all the land.

And the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that have come to thee, who have come into thy house: for they have come to search out all the land.

4 And the woman took the two men and put them in a secret place; then she said, Yes, the men came to me, but I had no idea where they came from;

And the woman had taken and concealed the two men; and she said, Yes, the men did come unto me, but I knew not whence they were;

5 And when it was the time for shutting the doors at dark, they went out; I have no idea where the men went: but if you go after them quickly, you will overtake them.

and it came to pass when the gate had to be closed, at dark, that the men went out: I know not whither the men have gone. Pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them.

6 But she had taken them up to the roof, covering them with the stems of flax which she had put out in order there.

But she had taken them up to the roof, and secreted them under the stalks of flax, which she had laid out on the roof.

7 So the men went after them on the road to Jordan as far as the river-crossing: and when they had gone out after them, the door into the town was shut.

And the men pursued after them the way to the Jordan, to the fords; and when they who pursued after them had gone out, they closed the gate.

8 And before the men went to rest, she came up to them on the roof,

And before they had lain down, she went up to them upon the roof;

9 And said to them, It is clear to me that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has come on us;

and said to the men, I know that Jehovah has given you the land, and that the dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

10 For we have had news of how the Lord made the Red Sea dry before you when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, on the other side of Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you gave up to the curse.

For we have heard that Jehovah dried up the waters of the Red sea before you when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

11 And because of this news, our hearts became like water, and there was no more spirit in any of us because of you; for the Lord your God is God in heaven on high and here on earth.

We heard [of it], and our heart melted, and there remained no more spirit in any man because of you; for Jehovah your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.

12 So now, will you give me your oath by the Lord, that, because I have been kind to you, you will be kind to my father's house,

And now, I pray you, swear to me by Jehovah, since I have dealt kindly with you, that ye will also deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a certain sign,

13 And that you will keep safe my father and mother and my brothers and sisters and all they have, so that death may not come on us?

that ye will let my father live, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that belong to them, and deliver our souls from death.

14 And the men said to her, Our life for yours if you keep our business secret; and when the Lord has given us the land, we will keep faith and be kind to you.

And the men said to her, Our lives shall pay for yours, if ye do not make this our business known; and it shall be when Jehovah shall give us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.

15 Then she let them down from the window by a cord, for the house where she was living was on the town wall.

And she let them down by a cord through the window; for her house was upon the city-wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.

16 And she said to them, Get away into the hill-country, or the men who have gone after you will overtake you; keep yourselves safe there for three days, till the searchers have come back, and then go on your way.

And she said to them, Go to the mountain, that the pursuers may not meet with you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned; and afterwards go your way.

17 And the men said to her, We will only be responsible for this oath which you have made us take,

And the men said to her, We will be quit of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear.

18 If, when we come into the land, you put this cord of bright red thread in the window from which you let us down; and get your father and mother and your brothers and all your family into the house;

Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind in the window this line of scarlet thread by which thou hast let us down; and thou shalt gather to thee in the house thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household;

19 Then if anyone goes out of your house into the street, his blood will be on his head, we will not be responsible; but if any damage comes to anyone in the house, his blood will be on our heads.

and it shall be, that whoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, — his blood shall be upon his head, and we shall be innocent; but every one who shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be upon our head, if any hand be upon him.

20 But if you say anything about our business here, then we will be free from the oath you have made us take.

And if thou make known this our business, we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us swear.

21 And she said, Let it be as you say. Then she sent them away, and they went; and she put the bright red cord in the window.

And she said, According to your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet line in the window.

22 And they went into the hill-country and were there three days, till the men who had gone after them had come back; and those who went after them were searching for them everywhere without coming across them.

And they went, and came to the mountain, and remained there three days, until the pursuers had returned; and the pursuers sought them all the way, and found them not.

23 Then the two men came down from the hill-country and went over and came back to Joshua, the son of Nun; and they gave him a complete account of what had taken place.

And the two men returned and came down from the mountain, and went over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and related to him everything that had happened to them.

24 And they said to Joshua, Truly, the Lord has given all the land into our hands; and all the people of the land have become like water because of us.

And they said to Joshua, Of a surety Jehovah has given the whole land into our hands, and even all the inhabitants of the land faint because of us.