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.

Then Joshua [chose] two men from [their camp at] Acacia. He told them, “Go [across the Jordan River] and secretly find out all that you can about the land on that side of the river, especially about Jericho [city].” So the two men crossed [the river and entered Jericho]. They entered the house of a prostitute, whose name was Rahab. They stayed in her house [that night].

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.

But someone [saw them and] told the king of Jericho, “Some Israeli men have come here tonight to spy out 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.

So the king sent some messengers to tell Rahab, “Bring out the men who came and entered your house, [so that we can kill them], because they have come [here] to (spy out/find out all they can about) this 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,

She told them that the two men had gone to her house. But she had hidden the two men there. So when the messengers came to her house, she told them, “Two men came here, but I did not know where they had come 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.

At dusk, just before (guards closed the city gate/the city gates were closed), the two men left. I do not know where they went. So, go quickly and search for them! Perhaps you may catch 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 was lying, ] she had taken the two men up to the [flat] roof of her house and had hidden them under the piles of flax that she had laid on the roof.

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

The messengers went out of the city to search for the two men. Immediately, the guards shut the city gate. The messengers went along the road that leads down to the place where people can walk across the Jordan [River], [but they did not find the two men].

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;

Before the two men lay down [to sleep] that night, Rahab went up to the roof

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.

and said to them, “We know that Yahweh [is about to] give this land to you Israelis, and as a result all the people living in this land are terrified because of you.

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 about how Yahweh dried up the water of the Red Sea for you to cross it when you left Egypt. And we have heard how you killed Sihon and Og, the two kings of the tribe of Amor who lived east of the Jordan [River]. You [Israelis] totally destroyed everyone [and everything in their kingdom].

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.

When we heard about those things, we were very dismayed. We no longer have enough courage to fight against you, because we know that Yahweh, the God whom you [worship], is helping you. [And we know that] he rules everything in heaven and here on earth.

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:

So now [I want you to] solemnly promise me, and ask Yahweh to punish you if you do not do what you promise. Solemnly promise me that you will act kindly to me and my family, because I have acted kindly to you.

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.

Do something to prove that you will (spare the lives of/not kill) my father and my mother, my brothers and sisters, and all of their families. Promise me that you [Israelis] will not kill us [when you destroy this city].”

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.

The two men replied, “We desire that God will cause us to die if we do not do as we say! If you do not tell others what we [are planning to] do, we will act kindly toward you all when Yahweh enables us to possess the land.”

15 And she let them down by the window;

[One of] the outside walls of the house where Rahab lived was part of the wall [that was around] the city. So she fastened a rope outside the window [that was in that wall], by which the men could climb down 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.

Then she said to them, “When you leave the city, go up into the hills so that the men who are searching for you will not find you. Hide in caves in the hills for three days, until the men who are searching for you return to the city. Then you can return safely to your camp.”

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

The two men [gave her a red cord, and] said to her, “This is what you must do; if you do not do this, we will not be required to do what we have vowed to do.

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.

You must tie this red cord in the window that has the rope by which we will climb down. You must let the cord hang there. And you must bring your father and your mother and your brothers and all the others in your family inside the house. Then, when our army enters your land, we will see the cord, and we will not kill the people in 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.

If anyone in your family goes outside this house into the street, [our soldiers] will kill them, and we will not be guilty [MTY] for doing that. But if anyone who is in this house with you is injured, we will be guilty for causing that.

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

But if you tell anyone what we [are planning to] do, we are not required to do what we have vowed to do.”

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

Rahab said, “I agree to do what you say.” So they climbed down the rope and left. And she left the red cord tied in 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.

When the two men left the city, they went up into the hills. They stayed there for three days, while the men [who had been sent by the king] continued to search for them. They searched all along the road, but they did not find the two men. So they returned to the city.

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.

Then the two men started back toward their camp. They went down from the hills, went down to the river, crossed it at the place where people can walk across it, and returned to their camp. They told Joshua everything 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.

They said to Joshua, “We are sure that Yahweh is going to enable us to possess everything that is in that land. The people there are terrified [IDM] because of us.”