Rahab Hides the Spies^(A)

2 Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men ^(B)from ^[a]Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.”

So they went, and ^(C)came to the house of a harlot named ^(D)Rahab, and ^[b]lodged there. ² And ^(E)it was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.”

³ So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.”

^4 (F)Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. ⁵ And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” ⁶ (But ^(G)she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) ⁷ Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.

⁸ Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, ⁹ and said to the men: ^(H)“I know that the Lord has given you the land, that ^(I)the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land ^(J)are fainthearted because of you. ¹⁰ For we have heard how the Lord ^(K)dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and ^(L)what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you ^(M)utterly destroyed. ¹¹ And as soon as we ^(N)heard these things, ^(O)our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for ^(P)the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. ¹² Now therefore, I beg you, ^(Q)swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to ^(R)my father’s house, and ^(S)give me ^[c]a true token, ¹³ and ^(T)spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.”

¹⁴ So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the Lord has given us the land, that ^(U)we will deal kindly and truly with you.”

¹⁵ Then she ^(V)let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall. ¹⁶ And she said to them, “Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.”

¹⁷ So the men said to her: “We will be ^(W)blameless^[d] of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, ^18 (X)unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, ^(Y)and unless you ^[e]bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home. ¹⁹ So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be ^[f]guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, ^(Z)his ^[g]blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. ²⁰ And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be ^[h]free from your oath which you made us swear.”

²¹ Then she said, “According to your words, so be it.” And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.

Israel Refuses to Enter Canaan

14 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people ^(A)wept that night. ^2 (B)And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! ³ Why has the Lord brought us to this land to ^[a]fall by the sword, that our wives and ^(C)children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ So they said to one another, ^(D)“Let us select a leader and ^(E)return to Egypt.”

⁵ Then Moses and Aaron ^[b]fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.

⁶ But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; ⁷ and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: ^(F)“The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. ⁸ If the Lord ^(G)delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ^(H)‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ ⁹ Only ^(I)do not rebel against the Lord, ^(J)nor fear the people of the land, for ^(K)they^[c] are our bread; their protection has departed from them, ^(L)and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”

^10 (M)And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now ^(N)the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.

Moses Intercedes for the People

¹¹ Then the Lord said to Moses: “How long will these people ^(O)reject^[d] Me? And how long will they not ^(P)believe Me, with all the ^[e]signs which I have performed among them? ¹² I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will ^(Q)make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

³¹ By faith ^(A)the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who ^[a]did not believe, when ^(B)she had received the spies with peace.

¹³ Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

The Treaty with the Gibeonites

9 And it came to pass when ^(A)all the kings who were on this side of the Jordan, in the hills and in the lowland and in all the coasts of ^(B)the Great Sea toward Lebanon—^(C)the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite—heard about it, ² that they ^(D)gathered together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one ^[a]accord.

³ But when the inhabitants of ^(E)Gibeon ^(F)heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, ⁴ they worked craftily, and went and ^[b]pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and ^[c]mended, ⁵ old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy. ⁶ And they went to Joshua, ^(G)to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a ^[d]covenant with us.”

⁷ Then the men of Israel said to the ^(H)Hivites, “Perhaps you dwell among us; so ^(I)how can we make a covenant with you?”

⁸ But they said to Joshua, ^(J)“We are your servants.”

And Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?”

⁹ So they said to him: ^(K)“From a very far country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God; for we have ^(L)heard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt, ¹⁰ and ^(M)all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan—to Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth. ¹¹ Therefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take provisions with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants; now therefore, make a covenant with us.” ’ ¹² This bread of ours we took hot for our provision from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look, it is dry and moldy. ¹³ And these wineskins which we filled were new, and see, they are torn; and these our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey.”

¹⁴ Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; ^(N)but they ^[e]did not ask counsel of the Lord. ¹⁵ So Joshua ^(O)made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them.

¹⁶ And it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them. ¹⁷ Then the children of Israel journeyed and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were ^(P)Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath Jearim. ¹⁸ But the children of Israel did not ^[f]attack them, ^(Q)because the rulers of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation complained against the rulers.

¹⁹ Then all the rulers said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel; now therefore, we may not touch them. ²⁰ This we will do to them: We will let them live, lest ^(R)wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them.” ²¹ And the rulers said to them, “Let them live, but let them be ^(S)woodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation, as the rulers had ^(T)promised them.”

²² Then Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, “Why have you deceived us, saying, ^(U)‘We are very far from you,’ when ^(V)you dwell near us? ²³ Now therefore, you are ^(W)cursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaves—woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”

²⁴ So they answered Joshua and said, “Because your servants were clearly told that the Lord your God ^(X)commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; therefore ^(Y)we were very much afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing. ²⁵ And now, here we are, ^(Z)in your hands; do with us as it seems good and right to do to us.” ²⁶ So he did to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, so that they did not kill them. ²⁷ And that day Joshua made them ^(AA)woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, ^(AB)in the place which He would choose, even to this day.