Joshua 2

1 And so Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two men from Shittim to explore in secret. And he said to them, “Go and consider the land and the city of Jericho.” And while traveling, they entered into the house of a harlot woman named Rahab, and they rested with her.

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 reported to the king of Jericho, and it was said: “Behold, men have entered to this place in the night, from the sons of Israel, so that they might explore 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 And the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying: “Bring out the men who came to you, and who entered into your house. For certainly they are spies, and they have arrived to consider the entire 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, taking the men, hid them. And she said: “I admit that they came to me, but I did not know where they were 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 the gate was closed, they went out together in the darkness. I do not know where they have gone. Pursue them quickly, and 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 caused the men to ascend to the roof of her house, and she covered them with the stalks of flax that were 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 But those who had been sent pursued after them along the way that leads to the ford of the Jordan. And as soon as they went out, the gate was closed.

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 Those who were hiding had not yet fallen asleep, and behold, the woman went up to them, and she said:

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

9 “I know that the Lord has given this land to you. For the terror of you has fallen upon us, and all the inhabitants of the land have languished.

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 We have heard that the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea upon your arrival, when you were departing from Egypt, and we heard of the things that you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you put to death.

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 upon hearing these things, we were very afraid, and our heart languished. Neither did there remain in us any spirit at your arrival. For the Lord your God is the very God in heaven above and on earth below.

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 Now, therefore, swear to me by the Lord that in the same way that I have acted with mercy toward you, so also shall you act toward the house of my father. And may you give me a true sign

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 that you will save my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all that is theirs, and that you may rescue our souls from death.”

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 They responded to her: “May our lives be yours unto death, if only you do not betray us. And when the Lord will have delivered the land to us, we will act toward you with mercy and truth.”

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 Therefore, she sent them down from a window with a rope. For her house was joined to the 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: “Climb up to the mountains; otherwise, they may meet you as they are returning. And lay hidden there for three days, until they return. And then you will 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 they said to her: “We shall be innocent of this oath, to which you have sworn us,

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

18 if, when we enter into the land, this scarlet cord has been placed as a sign, and you have tied it at the window by which you let us down. And so, gather your father, and mother, and brothers, and all your family into your 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 Whoever will have exited from the door of your house, his blood will be on his own head, and we will be uninvolved. But the blood of all who will be with you in the house shall fall back upon our own head, if anyone touches them.

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 will have betrayed us, so that you spread this word in their midst, we will be free from this oath, to which you have sworn us.”

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

21 And she responded, “Just as you have spoken, so let it be done.” And sending them to travel on, she hung the scarlet cord at 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 truly, walking on, they arrived at the mountains, and they stayed there for three days, until those who had been pursuing them returned. For having sought them along the entire way, they did not find 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 And when they returned and entered the city, the explorers descended from the mountain. And crossing the Jordan, they went to Joshua, the son of Nun, and they reported to him all that had happened to them.

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, “The Lord has delivered this entire land into our hands, and all its inhabitants have been struck down by fear.”

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.