Joshua 2
New American Standard Bible
Rahab Shelters Spies
2 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. 2 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.” 3 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.” 4 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. 5 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.” 6 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. 7 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.
8 Now before [a]the spies lay down, she came up to them on the roof, 9 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
- Joshua 2:8 Lit they lay
- Joshua 2:10 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Joshua 2:10 Or put under the ban
- Joshua 2:11 Lit spirit arose
- Joshua 2:12 Or faithfulness
- Joshua 2:13 Lit let live
- Joshua 2:13 Lit souls
- Joshua 2:14 Lit soul
- Joshua 2:14 Lit instead of you to die
- Joshua 2:14 Or truly
- Joshua 2:17 Lit of yours
- Joshua 2:18 Lit behold
- Joshua 2:19 I.e., responsibility for his death
- Joshua 2:22 Lit through all the road
Joshua 2
Common English Bible
Joshua sends spies
2 Joshua, Nun’s son, secretly sent two men as spies from Shittim. He said, “Go. Look over the land, especially Jericho.” They set out and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab. They bedded down there.
2 Someone told the king of Jericho, “Men from the Israelites have come here tonight to spy on the land.”
3 So the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab: “Send out the men who came to you, the ones who came to your house, because they have come to spy on the entire land.”
Rahab takes action
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. Then she said, “Of course the men came to me. But I didn’t know where they were from. 5 The men left when it was time to close the gate at dark, but I don’t know where the men went. Hurry! Chase after them! You might catch up with them.” 6 But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the flax stalks that she had laid out on the roof. 7 The men from Jericho[a] chased after them in the direction of the Jordan up to the fords. As soon as those chasing them went out, the gate was shut behind them.
Rahab sets terms
8 Before the spies bedded down, Rahab went up to them on the roof. 9 She said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land. Terror over you has overwhelmed us. The entire population of the land has melted down in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Reed Sea[b] in front of you when you left Egypt. We have also heard what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites on the other side of the Jordan. You utterly wiped them out. 11 We heard this and our hearts turned to water. Because of you, people can no longer work up their courage. This is because the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below. 12 Now, I have been loyal to you. So pledge to me by the Lord that you in turn will deal loyally with my family. Give me a sign of good faith. 13 Spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, and sisters, along with everything they own. Rescue us from death.”
14 The men said to her, “We swear by our own lives to secure yours. If you don’t reveal our mission, we will deal loyally and faithfully with you when the Lord gives us the land.”
The spies escape
15 So she lowered the spies on a rope through the window. Her house was on the outer side of the city wall, and she lived inside the wall. 16 Then she said to them, “Go toward the highlands so that those chasing you don’t run into you. Hide there for three days until those chasing you return. Then you may go on your way.”
17 The men said to her, “We won’t be responsible for this pledge you made us swear 18 unless, when we come into the land, you tie this red woven cord in the window through which you lowered us. Gather your father, your mother, your brothers, and your whole family into the house with you. 19 Those who go outside the doors of your house into the street will have only themselves to blame for their own deaths. We won’t be responsible. If anyone lays a hand on those who are with you in the house, we will take the blame for their death. 20 But if you reveal our mission, we won’t be responsible for this pledge you made us swear.”
21 She said, “These things will happen just like you said.” She sent them away and they went off. Then she tied the red cord in the window.
Mission accomplished
22 The spies went out and entered the highlands. They stayed there for three days until those chasing them came back. Those chasing them had searched all along the road but never found them. 23 Then the two men came back down from the highlands. They crossed the Jordan and came to Joshua, Nun’s son. They told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, “The Lord has definitely given the entire land into our power. In addition, all of the land’s population has melted down in fear because of us.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 2:7 Heb lacks from Jericho.
- Joshua 2:10 Or Red Sea
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Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible