Joshua 2

1 And Joshua son of Nun silently sends two men, spies, from Shittim, saying, “Go, see the land—and Jericho”; and they go and come into the house of a woman, a harlot, and her name [is] Rahab, and they lie down there.

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.

2 And it is told to the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come in here tonight, from the sons of Israel, to search the land.”

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

3 And the king of Jericho sends to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who are coming to you, who have come into your house, for they have come to search the entirety of the land.”

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

4 And the woman takes the two men, and hides them, and says thus: “The men came to me, and I have not known where they [are] from;

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

5 and it comes to pass—the gate is to [be] shut—in the dark, and the men have gone out; I have not known to where the men have gone; pursue, hurry after them, for you overtake them”;

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

6 and she has caused them to go up on the roof, and hides them with the flax wood, which is arranged for her on the roof.

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

7 And the men have pursued after them the way of the Jordan, by the fords, and they have shut the gate afterward when the pursuers have gone out after them.

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

8 And before they lie down, she has gone up to them on the roof,

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;

9 and she says to the men, “I have known that YHWH has given the land to you, and that your terror has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted at your presence.

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

10 For we have heard how YHWH dried up the waters of the Red Sea at your presence, in your going out of Egypt, and that which you have done to the two kings of the Amorite who [are] beyond the Jordan; to Sihon and to Og whom you devoted.

For we have heard that the Lord God dried up the Red Sea before you, when ye 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 ye utterly destroyed.

11 And we hear, and our heart melts, and there has not stood anymore spirit in [any] man from your presence, for He, your God YHWH, [is] God in the heavens above and on the earth below.

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.

12 And now, please swear to me by YHWH—because I have done kindness with you—that you have done, even you, kindness with the house of my father, and have given a true token to me,

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

13 and have kept alive my father, and my mother, and my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and have delivered our souls from death.”

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

14 And the men say to her, “Our soul to die for yours; if you do not declare this—our matter, then it has been, in YHWH’s giving this land to us, that we have done kindness and truth with you.”

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, ye shall deal mercifully and truly with me.

15 And she causes them to go down by a rope through the window, for her house [is] in the side of the wall, and she [is] dwelling in the wall;

And she let them down by the window;

16 and she says to them, “Go to the mountain, lest the pursuers come on you; and you have been hidden there three days until the turning back of the pursuers, and afterward you go on your way.”

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

17 And the men say to her, “We are acquitted of this, your oath, which you have caused us to swear:

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

18 behold, we are coming into the land, bind this line of scarlet thread to the window by which you have caused us to go down, and gather your father, and your mother, and your brothers, and all the house of your father to you, to the house;

Behold, we shall enter into a part of the city, and thou shalt set a sign; thou shalt bind this scarlet cord in the window, by which thou hast let us down, and thou shalt bring in to thyself, into thy house, thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all the family of thy father.

19 and it has been, anyone who goes out from the doors of your house outside, his blood [is] on his head, and we are innocent; and anyone who is with you in the house, his blood [is] on our head, if a hand is on him;

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

20 and if you declare this—our matter, then we have been acquitted from your oath which you have caused us to swear.”

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

21 And she says, “According to your words, so it [is]”; and she sends them away, and they go; and she binds the scarlet line to the window.

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

22 And they go, and come to the mountain, and abide there three days until the pursuers have turned back; and the pursuers seek in all the way, and have not found.

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

23 And the two men turn back, and come down from the hill, and pass over, and come to Joshua son of Nun, and recount to him all that has come on them;

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.

24 and they say to Joshua, “Surely YHWH has given all the land into our hand; and also, all the inhabitants of the land have melted at our presence.”

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.