Joshua 2

1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent from Shittim two spies secretly, saying, Go, see the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into a harlot's house, named Rahab, and they lay 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 was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, men have come hither to-night from the children of Israel to search out 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 to Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that have come to thee, who have come into thy house: for they have come to search out all 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 had taken and concealed the two men; and she said, Yes, the men did come 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 when the gate had to be closed, at dark, that the men went out: I know not whither the men have gone. Pursue after them quickly; for ye shall 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 taken them up to the roof, and secreted them under the stalks of flax, which she had laid out 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 pursued after them the way to the Jordan, to the fords; and when they who pursued after them had gone out, they closed the gate.

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 had lain down, she went up to them upon the roof;

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

9 and said to the men, I know that Jehovah has given you the land, and that the dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint 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 that Jehovah dried up the waters of the Red sea before you when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom ye 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 We heard [of it], and our heart melted, and there remained no more spirit in any man because of you; for Jehovah your God, he is God in the heavens 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, I pray you, swear to me by Jehovah, since I have dealt kindly with you, that ye will also deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a certain sign,

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 let my father live, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that belong to them, and deliver 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 said to her, Our lives shall pay for yours, if ye do not make this our business known; and it shall be when Jehovah shall give us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.

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 a cord through the window; for her house was upon the city-wall, and she dwelt upon 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 said to them, Go to the mountain, that the pursuers may not meet with you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned; and afterwards 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 to her, We will be quit of this thine oath which thou hast made us 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, thou shalt bind in the window this line of scarlet thread by which thou hast let us down; and thou shalt gather to thee in the house thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household;

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 whoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, — his blood shall be upon his head, and we shall be innocent; but every one who shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be upon our head, if any hand be 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 make known this our business, we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us 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 to your words, so be it. And she sent them away, 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 to the mountain, and remained there three days, until the pursuers had returned; and the pursuers sought them all the way, 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 men returned and came down from the mountain, and went over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and related to him everything 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, Of a surety Jehovah has given the whole land into our hands, and even all the inhabitants of the land faint 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.”