Joshua 2

1 And Joshua the son of Naue sent out of Sattin two young men to spy [the land], saying, Go up and view the land and Jericho: and the two young men went and entered into Jericho; and they entered into the house of a harlot, whose name [was] Raab, and lodged there.

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.

2 An it was reported to the king of Jericho, saying, Men of the sons of Israel have come in hither to spy the land.

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.”

3 And the king of Jericho sent and spoke to Raab, saying, Bring out the men that entered into your house this night; for they are come to spy out the land.

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.”

4 And the woman took the two men and hid them; and she spoke to the messengers, saying, The men came in to me,

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.

5 but when the gate was shut in the evening, the men went out; I know not whither they are gone: follow after them, if you may overtake them.

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.”

6 But she [had] brought them up upon the house, and hid them in the flax-stalks that were spread by her on the house.

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.

7 And the men followed after them in the way to Jordan to the fords; and the gate was shut.

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.

8 And it came to pass when the men who pursued after them were gone forth, and before the spies had lain down to sleep, that she came up to them on the top of the house;

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

9 and she said to them, I know that the Lord has given you the land; for the fear of you has fallen upon us.

“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.

10 For we have heard that the Lord God dried up the Red Sea before you, when you came out of the land of Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond Jordan, to Seon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.

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.

11 And when we heard it we were amazed in our heart, and there was no longer any spirit in any of us because of you, for the Lord your god [is] God in heaven above, and on the earth beneath.

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.

12 And now swear to me by the Lord God; since I deal mercifully with you, so do you also deal mercifully with the house of my father:

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

13 and save alive the house of my father, my mother, and my brethren, and all my house, and all that they have, and you shall rescue my soul from death.

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.”

14 And the men said to her, Our life for yours [even] to death: and she said, When the Lord shall have delivered the city to you, you shall deal mercifully and truly with me.

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.”

15 And she let them down by the window;

Therefore, she sent them down from a window with a rope. For her house was joined to the wall.

16 and she said to them, Depart into the hill-country, lest the pursuers meet you, and you shall be hidden there three days until your pursuers return from after you, and afterwards you shall depart on your way.

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.”

17 And the men said to her, We are clear of this your oath.

And they said to her: “We shall be innocent of this oath, to which you have sworn us,

18 Behold, we shall enter into a part of the city, and you shall set a sign; you shall bind this scarlet cord in the window, by which you have let us down, and you shall bring in to yourself, into your house, your father, and your mother, and your brethren, and all the family of your father.

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.

19 And it shall come to pass that whoever shall go outside the door of your house, his guilt shall be upon him, and we shall be quit of this your oath; and we will be responsible for all that shall be found with you in your house.

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.

20 But if any one should injure us, or betray these our matters, we shall be quit of this your oath.

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.”

21 And she said to them, Let it be according to your word; and she sent them out, and they departed.

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.

22 And they came to the hill-country, and remained there three days; and the pursuers searched all the roads, and found them not.

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.

23 And the two young men returned, and came down out of the mountain; and they went over to Joshua the son of Naue, and told him all things that had happened to them.

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.

24 And they said to Joshua, The Lord has delivered all the land into our power, and all the inhabitants of that land tremble because of us.

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