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.

²² They departed and went to the mountain, and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did not find them. ²³ So the two men returned, descended from the mountain, and crossed over; and they came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen them. ²⁴ And they said to Joshua, “Truly ^(AA)the Lord has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us.”

The Destruction of Jericho

6 Now ^(A)Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. ² And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! ^(B)I have given Jericho into your hand, its ^(C)king, and the mighty men of valor. ³ You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. ⁴ And seven priests shall bear seven ^(D)trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city ^(E)seven times, and ^(F)the priests shall blow the trumpets. ⁵ It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”

⁶ Then Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.” ⁷ And he said to the people, “Proceed, and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the Lord.”

⁸ So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. ⁹ The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, ^(G)and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. ¹⁰ Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.” ¹¹ So he had ^(H)the ark of the Lord circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and ^[a]lodged in the camp.

¹² And Joshua rose early in the morning, ^(I)and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. ¹³ Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. ¹⁴ And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days.

¹⁵ But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. ¹⁶ And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city! ¹⁷ Now the city shall be ^(J)doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only ^(K)Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because ^(L)she hid the messengers that we sent. ¹⁸ And you, ^(M)by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, ^(N)and trouble it. ¹⁹ But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are ^[b]consecrated to the Lord; they ^[c]shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”

²⁰ So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that ^(O)the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. ²¹ And they ^(P)utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

²² But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, “Go into the harlot’s house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, ^(Q)as you swore to her.” ²³ And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, ^(R)her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel. ²⁴ But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. ²⁵ And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So ^(S)she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

²⁶ Then Joshua ^[d]charged them at that time, saying, ^(T)“Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.”

²⁷ So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the country.