Rahab Shelters Spies

Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from (A)Shittim, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of (B)a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and rested there. But it was told to the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to spy out the land.” And the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to spy out all the land.” But the (C)woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. It came about, when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” But (D)she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof. So the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan, to the crossing places; and as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate.

Now before [a]the spies lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men, “(E)I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the (F)terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have despaired because of you. 10 (G)For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the [b]Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and (H)what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you [c]utterly destroyed. 11 When we heard these reports, (I)our hearts melted and no [d]courage remained in anyone any longer because of you; for the (J)Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth below. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a (K)pledge of [e]truth, 13 and [f]spare my father and my mother, and my brothers and my sisters, and all who belong to them, and save our [g]lives from death.” 14 So the men said to her, “Our [h]life [i]for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will (L)deal kindly and [j]faithfully with you.”

The Promise to Rahab

15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall. 16 And she said to them, “(M)Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not encounter you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way.” 17 And the men said to her, “(N)We shall be exempt from this oath [k]to you which you have made us swear, 18 [l]unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and (O)gather into your house your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. 19 And it shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house outside will have [m]his blood on his own head, and we will be innocent; but anyone who is with you in the house, (P)his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him. 20 But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be exempt from the oath which you have made us swear.” 21 She then said, “According to your words, so be it.” So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

22 So they departed and came to the hill country, and remained there for three days, until the pursuers returned. Now the pursuers had searched for them [n]all along the road, but had not found them. 23 Then the two men returned and came down from the hill country, and they crossed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun. Then they reported to him all that had happened to them. 24 And they said to Joshua, “The Lord has indeed handed over to us all the land; furthermore, (Q)all the inhabitants of the land have despaired because of us.”

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 2:8 Lit they lay
  2. Joshua 2:10 Lit Sea of Reeds
  3. Joshua 2:10 Or put under the ban
  4. Joshua 2:11 Lit spirit arose
  5. Joshua 2:12 Or faithfulness
  6. Joshua 2:13 Lit let live
  7. Joshua 2:13 Lit souls
  8. Joshua 2:14 Lit soul
  9. Joshua 2:14 Lit instead of you to die
  10. Joshua 2:14 Or truly
  11. Joshua 2:17 Lit of yours
  12. Joshua 2:18 Lit behold
  13. Joshua 2:19 I.e., responsibility for his death
  14. Joshua 2:22 Lit through all the road

The Conquest of Jericho

Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. But the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have handed Jericho over to you, with (A)its king and the valiant warriors. And you shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. Also seven priests shall carry seven (B)trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down [a]flat, and the people shall go up, everyone [b]straight ahead.”

So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.” Then [c]he said to the people, “Go forward and march around the city, and the armed men shall go on ahead of the ark of the Lord.” And it was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord went forward and blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. And the armed men went ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and (C)the rear guard came after the ark, while they continued to blow the trumpets. 10 But Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard, nor let a word proceed from your mouth, until the day I tell you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout!” 11 So he had the ark of the Lord [d]taken around the city, circling it once; then they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

12 Now Joshua got up early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 Then (D)the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew the trumpets; and the armed men went ahead of them, and (E)the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while they continued to blow the trumpets. 14 So the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp; they did the same for six days.

15 Then on the seventh day they got up early at the dawning of the day and marched around the city in the same way seven times; only on that day did they march around the city seven times. 16 And at the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “(F)Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. 17 But the city shall be (G)designated for [e]destruction, it and everything that is in it belongs to the Lord; only Rahab the prostitute [f]and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. 18 But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things designated for destruction, so that you do not covet them and (H)take some of the designated things, and turn the camp of Israel into something designated for destruction and bring disaster on it. 19 (I)But all the silver and gold, and articles of bronze and iron are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” 20 So the people shouted, and [g]the priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout, and the (J)wall fell down [h]flat, so that the people went up into the city, everyone straight [i]ahead, and they took the city. 21 (K)They [j]utterly destroyed everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, sheep, and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

22 And Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “(L)Go into the prostitute’s house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, just as you have sworn to her.” 23 So the young men who were spies went in and (M)brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all she had; they also brought out all her relatives, and placed them outside the camp of Israel. 24 Then (N)they burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the [k]house of the Lord. 25 However, (O)Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua [l]spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, because (P)she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

26 Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, “(Q)Cursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he will set up its gates.” 27 So (R)the Lord was with Joshua, and his (S)fame was in all the land.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 6:5 Lit in its place
  2. Joshua 6:5 Lit before himself
  3. Joshua 6:7 Another reading is they
  4. Joshua 6:11 Lit to go around
  5. Joshua 6:17 I.e., as an offering to God
  6. Joshua 6:17 Lit she and all
  7. Joshua 6:20 Lit they
  8. Joshua 6:20 Lit in its place
  9. Joshua 6:20 Lit before himself
  10. Joshua 6:21 Or put under the ban
  11. Joshua 6:24 I.e., tabernacle
  12. Joshua 6:25 Lit let live

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