Encouragement of Joshua

1 After the death of Moses^(A) the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun,^(B) Moses’s assistant: ² “Moses my servant is dead.^(C) Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan^(D) to the land I am giving the Israelites. ³ I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads,^(E) just as I promised Moses. ⁴ Your territory will be from the wilderness and Lebanon^(F) to the great river, the Euphrates River—all the land of the Hittites^(G)—and west to the Mediterranean Sea.^{(H) 5} No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live.^(I) I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you.^(J)

⁶ “Be strong and courageous,^(K) for you will distribute the land I swore to their ancestors to give them as an inheritance.^{(L) 7} Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you.^(M) Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. ⁸ This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth;^(N) you are to meditate on^[a] it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.^{(O) 9} Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous?^(P) Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua Prepares the People

¹⁰ Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, ¹¹ “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get provisions ready for yourselves, for within three days you will be crossing the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you to inherit.’”^(Q)

¹² Joshua said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh,^{(R) 13} “Remember what Moses the Lord’s servant commanded you when he said, ‘The Lord your God will give you rest, and he will give you this land.’^{(S) 14} Your wives, dependents, and livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But your best soldiers must cross over in battle formation^[b] ahead of your brothers and help them ¹⁵ until the Lord gives your brothers rest, as he has given you, and they too possess the land the Lord your God is giving them. You may then return to the land of your inheritance^(T) and take possession of what Moses the Lord’s servant^(U) gave you on the east side of the Jordan.”

¹⁶ They answered Joshua, “Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. ¹⁷ We will obey you, just as we obeyed Moses in everything. Certainly the Lord your God will be with you, as he was with Moses.^{(V) 18} Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words in all that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous!” ^(W)

Spies Sent to Jericho

2 Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies^(A) from the Acacia Grove,^[a] saying, “Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.” So they left, and they came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab,^(B) and stayed there.

² The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land.” ³ Then the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house,^(C) for they came to investigate the entire land.”

⁴ But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them.^(D) So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I didn’t know where they were from. ⁵ At nightfall, when the city gate was about to close, the men went out, and I don’t know where they were going. Chase after them quickly, and you can catch up with them!” ⁶ But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them^(E) among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof. ⁷ The men pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they left to pursue them, the city gate was shut.

The Promise to Rahab

⁸ Before the men fell asleep, she went up on the roof ⁹ and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land^(F) and that the terror of you has fallen on us,^(G) and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you.^{[b](H) 10} For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt,^(I) and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed^(J) across the Jordan. ¹¹ When we heard this, we lost heart,^(K) and everyone’s courage failed^[c] because of you,^(L) for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.^{(M) 12} Now please swear to me by the Lord that you will also show kindness to my father’s family, because I showed kindness to you.^(N) Give me a sure sign^{[d] 13} that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and save us from death.”

¹⁴ The men answered her, “We will give our lives for yours. If you don’t report our mission, we will show kindness and faithfulness to you when the Lord gives us the land.”

¹⁵ Then she let them down by a rope through the window, since she lived in a house that was built into the wall of the city. ¹⁶ “Go to the hill country so that the men pursuing you won’t find you,” she said to them. “Hide there for three days until they return; afterward, go on your way.”

¹⁷ The men said to her, “We will be free from this oath you made us swear, ¹⁸ unless, when we enter the land, you tie this scarlet cord to the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers, and all your father’s family into your house. ¹⁹ If anyone goes out the doors of your house, his death will be his own fault,^(O) and we will be innocent. But if anyone with you in the house should be harmed, his death will be our fault. ²⁰ And if you report our mission, we are free from the oath you made us swear.”

²¹ “Let it be as you say,” she replied, and she sent them away. After they had gone, she tied the scarlet cord to the window.

²² So the two men went into the hill country and stayed there three days until the pursuers had returned. They searched all along the way, but did not find them. ²³ Then the men returned, came down from the hill country, and crossed the Jordan. They went to Joshua son of Nun and reported everything that had happened to them. ²⁴ They told Joshua, “The Lord has handed over the entire land to us. Everyone who lives in the land is also panicking because of us.”^[e]