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.

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

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

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 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”;

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 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 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 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.

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

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

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 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 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 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 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.

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, 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,

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 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.”

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 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.”

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 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;

[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 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.”

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 say to her, “We are acquitted of this, your oath, which you have 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, 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;

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 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;

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 you declare this—our matter, then we have been acquitted from your oath which you have 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 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.

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 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.

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 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;

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 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.”

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.”