< Joshua 2 >
1 And Joshua, the son of Nun, had sent out from Shittim two men as spies, secretly, saying, Go ye, view the land and especially Jericho; and they went, and came unto the house of a woman, a harlot, whose name was Rachab, and they 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 And it was told unto the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, men came in hither this night, of the children of Israel, to search out the country.
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 to Rachab, saying, Bring forth the men who are come to thee, who came to thy house; for, to search out all the country are they come.
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 But the woman had taken the two men, and hidden them; and she said, It is true, the men came unto me, but I knew not whence they were.
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 And it came to pass, about the time of shutting the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out; I know not whither the men are gone: pursue quickly after them, for ye can 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 to the roof, and had hidden them among the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.
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 pursued after them, by the way to the Jordan unto the fords; and the gate was closed, as soon as those who pursued after them were gone out.
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 But they had not yet laid themselves down, when she came up unto them upon the roof.
Before the two men lay down [to sleep] that night, Rahab went up to the roof
9 And she said unto them, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that the terror of you hath fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are become faint-hearted, because of you.
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, how that the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you, when ye went forth out of Egypt; and what ye have done unto the two kings of the Emorites, who were on the other side of the Jordan, unto Sichon and 'Og, whom ye have 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 this, our heart melted, and there remained not any more courage in any man, because of you; for the Lord your God is alone God in the heavens above, and upon 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, I pray you, unto me by the Lord, because I have shown you kindness, that ye will also, for your part, show kindness, unto my father's house; and give me a sure token,
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 That ye will preserve the life of my father, and my mother, and my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives 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 unto her, Our life shall be [doomed] to death instead of yours, if ye tell not this our business; and it shall be, when the Lord giveth us the land, that we will show thee kindness and truth.
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 Then she let them down by a cord through the window; for her house was within the town wall, and within the wall she dwelt.
[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 unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet with you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned; and afterward ye may go 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 unto her, We will be blameless of this thy oath which thou hast caused us to swear.
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, when we come into the land, this line of scarlet thread shalt thou bind in the window by which thou hast let us down; and thy father, and thy mother, and thy brothers, and all thy father's household, thou must bring together unto thee into the house.
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 be, that whosoever will go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless; and whosoever will remain with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if a hand be laid upon him.
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 And if thou tell this our business, then will we be free of thy oath which thou hast caused us to swear.
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, According unto your words, so be it; and she dismissed them, and they departed; and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
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 went, and came unto the mountain, and they remained there three days, until the pursuers were returned; and the pursuers sought throughout all the way, but found nothing.
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 men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and related to him all the things that had befallen 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 unto Joshua, Truly the Lord hath given up into our hand all the country; for all the inhabitants of the country are already become faint-hearted 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.”