Joshua 1-2

International Children’s Bible

God’s Command to Joshua

1 Moses was the servant of the Lord. Joshua son of Nun was Moses’ assistant. After Moses died, the Lord said to Joshua: ² “My servant Moses is dead. Now you and all these people go across the Jordan River. Go into the land I am giving to the people of Israel. ³ I promised Moses I would give you this land. So I will give you every place you go in the land. ⁴ All the land from the desert in the south to Lebanon in the north will be yours. All the land from the great river, the Euphrates, in the east, to the Mediterranean Sea in the west will be yours. This includes the land of the Hittites. ⁵ Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. No one will be able to stop you all your life. I will not leave you. I will never leave you alone.

⁶ “Joshua, be strong and brave! You must lead these people so they can take their land. This is the land I promised their fathers I would give them. ⁷ Be strong and brave. Be sure to obey all the teachings my servant Moses gave you. If you follow them exactly, you will be successful in everything you do. ⁸ Always remember what is written in the Book of the Teachings. Study it day and night. Then you will be sure to obey everything that is written there. If you do this, you will be wise and successful in everything. ⁹ Remember that I commanded you to be strong and brave. So don’t be afraid. The Lord your God will be with you everywhere you go.”

Joshua’s Orders to the People

¹⁰ So Joshua gave orders to the officers of the people. He said, ¹¹ “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan River. You will go and take the land the Lord your God is giving you.’”

¹² Then Joshua spoke to the people of Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. Joshua said, ¹³ “Remember what Moses, the servant of the Lord, told you. He said the Lord your God would give you rest. And he said the Lord would give you this land. ¹⁴ Now the Lord has given you this land east of the Jordan River. Your wives, your children and your animals may stay here. But your fighting men must dress for war and cross the Jordan River ahead of your brothers. You must help your brothers. ¹⁵ The Lord has given you a place to rest. He will do the same for your brothers. But you must help them until they take the land. This is the land the Lord their God is giving them. Then you may return to your own land east of the Jordan River. That is the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you.”

¹⁶ Then the people answered Joshua, “Anything you command us to do, we will do. Any place you send us, we will go. ¹⁷ Just as we fully obeyed Moses, we will obey you. We ask only that the Lord your God be with you just as he was with Moses. ¹⁸ Then, if anyone refuses to obey your commands or turns against you, he will be put to death. Just be strong and brave!”

Spies Sent to Jericho

2 Joshua son of Nun secretly sent out two spies from Acacia. Joshua said to them, “Go and look at the land. Look closely at the city of Jericho.”

So the men went to Jericho. They went to the house of a prostitute and stayed there. This woman’s name was Rahab.

² Someone told the king of Jericho, “Some men from Israel have come here tonight. They are spying out the land.”

³ So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house. They have come to spy out our whole land.”

⁴ Now the woman had hidden the two men. She said, “They did come here. But I didn’t know where they came from. ⁵ In the evening, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know where they went. Go quickly. Maybe you can catch them.” ⁶ (But the woman had taken the men up to the roof.^[a] She had hidden them there under stalks of flax. She had spread the flax out there to dry.) ⁷ So the king’s men went out looking for the spies from Israel. They went to the places where people cross the Jordan River. The city gate was closed just after the king’s men left the city.

⁸ The spies were ready to sleep for the night. So Rahab went to the roof and talked to them. ⁹ She said, “I know the Lord has given this land to your people. You frighten us very much. Everyone living in this land is terribly afraid of you. ¹⁰ We are afraid because we have heard how the Lord helped you. We heard how he dried up the Red Sea when you came out of Egypt. We heard how you destroyed Sihon and Og. They were the two Amorite kings who lived east of the Jordan. ¹¹ When we heard this, we became very frightened. Now our men are afraid to fight you. This is because the Lord your God rules the heavens above and the earth below! ¹² So now, make me a promise before the Lord. Promise that you will show kindness to my family just as I showed you kindness. Give me some proof that you will do this. ¹³ Promise me you will allow my family to live. Save my father, mother, brothers, sisters and all of their families from death.”

¹⁴ The men agreed. They said, “We will trade our lives for your lives. Don’t tell anyone what we are doing. When the Lord gives us our land, we will be kind to you. You may trust us.”

¹⁵ The house Rahab lived in was built on the city wall. So she used a rope to let the men down through a window. ¹⁶ She said to them, “Go into the hills. The king’s men will not find you there. Hide there for three days. After the king’s men return, you may go on your way.”

¹⁷ The men said to her, “You must do as we say. If not, we cannot be responsible for keeping our promise. ¹⁸ You are using a red rope to help us escape. When we return to this land, you must tie it in the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers and all your family into your house. ¹⁹ We can keep everyone safe who stays in this house. If anyone in your house is hurt, we will be responsible. If anyone goes out of your house and is killed, it is his own fault. We cannot be responsible for him. ²⁰ But you must not tell anyone about this agreement. If you do, we are free from it.”

²¹ Rahab answered, “I agree to this.” So she sent them away, and they left. Then she tied the red rope in the window.

²² The men left and went into the hills. There they stayed for three days. The king’s men looked for them all along the road. But after three days, the king’s men returned to the city without finding them. ²³ Then the two men started back to Joshua. They left the hills and crossed the river. They went to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. ²⁴ They said to Joshua, “The Lord surely has given us all of the land. All the people in that land are terribly afraid of us.”