< 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 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 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.”
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 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 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 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, 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 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”;
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 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 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 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.
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 before they lie down, she has gone up to them on the roof,
Those who were hiding had not yet fallen asleep, and behold, the woman went up to them, and she said:
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.
“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 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.
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 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 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, 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,
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 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.”
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 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.”
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 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;
Therefore, she sent them down from a window with a rope. For her house was joined to the wall.
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: “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 say to her, “We are acquitted of this, your oath, which you have caused us to swear:
And they said to her: “We shall be innocent of this oath, to which you have sworn us,
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;
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 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;
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 and if you declare this—our matter, then we have been acquitted from your oath which you have caused us to swear.”
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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, “The Lord has delivered this entire land into our hands, and all its inhabitants have been struck down by fear.”

< Joshua 2 >