Joshua 2
New King James Version
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.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 2:1 Heb. Shittim
- Joshua 2:1 Lit. lay down
- Joshua 2:12 a pledge of truth
- Joshua 2:17 free from obligation to this oath
- Joshua 2:18 Lit. gather
- Joshua 2:19 free from obligation
- Joshua 2:19 guilt of bloodshed
- Joshua 2:20 free from obligation to
Joshua 2
New English Translation
Joshua Sends Spies into the Land
2 Joshua son of Nun sent two spies out from Shittim secretly and instructed them:[a] “Find out what you can about the land, especially Jericho.”[b] They stopped at the house of a prostitute named Rahab and spent the night there.[c] 2 The king of Jericho received this report: “Note well![d] Israelite men have come here tonight[e] to spy on the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent this order to Rahab:[f] “Turn over[g] the men who came to you[h]—the ones who came to your house[i]—for they have come to spy on the whole land!” 4 But the woman hid the two men[j] and replied, “Yes, these men were clients of mine,[k] but I didn’t know where they came from. 5 When it was time to shut the city gate for the night, the men left.[l] I don’t know where they were heading. Chase after them quickly, for you have time to catch them!” 6 (Now she had taken them up to the roof and had hidden them in the stalks of flax she had spread out[m] on the roof.) 7 Meanwhile,[n] the king’s men tried to find them on the road to the Jordan River[o] near the fords.[p] The city gate was shut as soon as they set out in pursuit of them.[q]
8 Now before the spies[r] went to sleep, Rahab[s] went up[t] to the roof. 9 She said to the men, “I know the Lord is handing this land over to you.[u] We are absolutely terrified of you,[v] and all who live in the land are cringing before[w] you.[x] 10 For we heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt and how you annihilated the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, on the other side of the Jordan.[y] 11 When we heard the news we lost our courage and no one could even breathe for fear of you.[z] For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below! 12 So now, promise me this with an oath sworn in the Lord’s name.[aa] Because I have shown allegiance to you, show allegiance to my family.[ab] Give me a solemn pledge[ac] 13 that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and will rescue us[ad] from death.” 14 The men said to her, “If you[ae] die, may we die too![af] If you do not report what we’ve been up to,[ag] then we will show unswerving allegiance[ah] to you[ai] when the Lord hands the land over to us.”
15 Then Rahab[aj] let them down by a rope[ak] through the window. (Her[al] house was built as part of the city wall; she lived in the wall.)[am] 16 She told them, “Head[an] to the hill country, so the ones chasing you don’t find you.[ao] Hide from them there for three days, long enough for those chasing you[ap] to return. Then you can be on your way.” 17 The men said to her, “We are not bound by this oath you made us swear unless the following conditions are met:[aq] 18 When we invade the land,[ar] tie this red rope[as] in the window through which you let us down, and gather together in your house your father, mother, brothers, and all who live in your father’s house.[at] 19 Anyone who leaves your house will be responsible for his own death—we are innocent in that case![au] But if anyone with you in the house is harmed, we will be responsible.[av] 20 If you should report what we’ve been up to,[aw] we are not bound by this oath you made us swear.” 21 She said, “I agree to these conditions.”[ax] She sent them on their way[ay] and then tied the red rope in the window. 22 They went[az] to the hill country and stayed there for three days, long enough for those chasing them[ba] to return. Their pursuers[bb] looked all along the way but did not find them.[bc] 23 Then the two men returned—they came down from the hills, crossed the river,[bd] came to Joshua son of Nun, and reported to him all they had discovered. 24 They told Joshua, “Surely the Lord is handing over all the land to us![be] All who live in the land are cringing before us!”[bf]
Footnotes
- Joshua 2:1 tn Heb “Joshua, son of Nun, sent from Shittim two men, spies, secretly, saying.”
- Joshua 2:1 tn Heb “go, see the land, and Jericho.”
- Joshua 2:1 tn Heb “they went and entered the house of a woman, a prostitute, and her name was Rahab, and they slept there.”
- Joshua 2:2 tn Or “look.”
- Joshua 2:2 tn Heb “men have come here tonight from the sons of Israel.”
- Joshua 2:3 tn Heb “and the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying.”
- Joshua 2:3 tn Heb “bring out.”
- Joshua 2:3 tn The idiom “come to” (בוֹא אֶל, boʾ ʾel) probably has sexual connotations here, as it often does elsewhere when a man “comes to” a woman. If so, the phrase could be translated “your clients.” The instructions reflect Rahab’s perspective as to the identity of the men.
- Joshua 2:3 tn The words “the ones who came to your house” (Heb “who came to your house”) may be a euphemistic scribal addition designed to blur the sexual connotation of the preceding words.
- Joshua 2:4 tn Heb “The woman took the two men and hid him.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix on “hid” has to be a scribal error (see GKC §135.p).
- Joshua 2:4 tn Heb “the men came to me.” See the note on this phrase in v. 3.
- Joshua 2:5 tn Heb “And the gate was to be shut in the darkness and the men went out.”
- Joshua 2:6 tn Heb “arranged in rows by her.”
- Joshua 2:7 tn Another way to translate vv. 6-7 would be, “While she took them up to the roof and hid them…, the king’s men tried to find them….” Both of the main clauses have the subject prior to the predicate, perhaps indicating simultaneous action. (On the grammatical point, see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 42, §235.) In this case Rahab moves the Israelite spies from the hiding place referred to in v. 4 to a safer and less accessible hiding place.
- Joshua 2:7 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.
- Joshua 2:7 tn Heb “And the men chased after them [on] the road [leading to] the Jordan to the fords.” The text is written from the perspective of the king’s men. As far as they were concerned, they were chasing the spies.
- Joshua 2:7 tn Heb “And they shut the gate after—as soon as the ones chasing after them went out.” The expressions “after” and “as soon as” may represent a conflation of alternate readings.
- Joshua 2:8 tn Heb “they.”
- Joshua 2:8 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Joshua 2:8 tn The Hebrew text adds, “to them.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has not been translated.
- Joshua 2:9 tn Heb “has given the land to you.” Rahab’s statement uses the Hebrew perfect, suggesting certitude.
- Joshua 2:9 tn Heb “terror of you has fallen upon us.”
- Joshua 2:9 tn Or “melting away because of.”
- Joshua 2:9 tn Both of these statements are actually subordinated to “I know” in the Hebrew text, which reads, “I know that the Lord…and that terror of you…and that all the inhabitants….”
- Joshua 2:10 tn Heb “and what you did to the two Amorite kings who were beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og, how you annihilated them.”
- Joshua 2:11 tn Heb “And we heard and our heart[s] melted and there remained no longer breath in a man because of you.”
- Joshua 2:12 tn Heb “Now, swear to me by the Lord.”sn To swear an oath in the Lord’s name would make the Lord the witness and guarantor of the promise attached to the oath. If the person making the oath should go back on the promise, the Lord would judge him for breaking the contract.
- Joshua 2:12 tn Heb “with the house of my father.”
- Joshua 2:12 tn Heb “true sign,” that is, “an inviolable token or pledge.”
- Joshua 2:13 tn Or “our lives.”
- Joshua 2:14 tn The second person pronoun is masculine plural, indicating that Rahab’s entire family is in view.
- Joshua 2:14 tn Heb “Our lives in return for you to die.” If the lives of Rahab’s family are not spared, then the spies will pay for the broken vow with their own lives.
- Joshua 2:14 tn Heb “If you do not report this matter of ours.”
- Joshua 2:14 tn Heb “allegiance and faithfulness.” These virtual synonyms are joined in the translation as “unswerving allegiance” to emphasize the degree of promised loyalty.
- Joshua 2:14 tn The second person pronoun is feminine singular, referring specifically to Rahab.
- Joshua 2:15 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Joshua 2:15 tc The phrase “by a rope” is omitted in the LXX. It may be a later clarifying addition. If original, the omission in the LXX is likely due to an error of homoioarcton. A scribe’s or translator’s eye could have jumped from the initial ב (bet) in the phrase בַּחֶבֶל (bakhevel, “with a rope”) to the initial ב on the immediately following בְּעַד (beʿad, “through”) and accidentally omitted the intervening letters.
- Joshua 2:15 tn Heb “For her house.”
- Joshua 2:15 tc These explanatory statements are omitted in the LXX and probably represent a later scribal addition.
- Joshua 2:16 tn Heb “Go.”
- Joshua 2:16 tn Heb “so that the pursuers might not meet you.”
- Joshua 2:16 tn Heb “the pursuers.” The object (“you”) is not in the Hebrew text but is implied.
- Joshua 2:17 tn Heb “We are free from this oath of yours which you made us swear.” The words “unless the following conditions are met” are not in the Hebrew text, but are added for clarification.
- Joshua 2:18 tn Heb “Look! We are about to enter the land.”
- Joshua 2:18 tn Heb “the cord of this red thread.”
- Joshua 2:18 tn Heb “and your father and your mother and your brothers and all the house of your father gather to yourself to the house.”
- Joshua 2:19 tn Heb “Anyone who goes out from the doors of your house to the outside, his blood is on his head. We are innocent.”
- Joshua 2:19 tn Heb “But anyone who is with you in the house, his blood is on our head if a hand should be on him.”
- Joshua 2:20 tn Heb “and if you report this matter of ours.”
- Joshua 2:21 tn Heb “According to your words, so it [will be].”
- Joshua 2:21 tn Heb “she sent them away and they went.”
- Joshua 2:22 tn Heb “they went and came.”
- Joshua 2:22 tn Heb “the pursuers.” The object (“them”) is added for clarification.
- Joshua 2:22 tn Heb “the ones chasing them.” This has been rendered as “their pursuers” in the translation to avoid redundancy with the preceding clause.
- Joshua 2:22 tn Heb “The pursuers looked in all the way and did not find [them].”
- Joshua 2:23 tn The words “the river,” though not in the Hebrew text, are added for clarification.
- Joshua 2:24 tn Heb “Surely the Lord has given into our hand all the land.” The report by the spies uses the Hebrew perfect, suggesting certitude.
- Joshua 2:24 tn Heb “are melting away because of us.”
Josué 2
Reina-Valera 1995
Josué envía exploradores a Jericó
2 Josué hijo de Nun envió desde Sitim dos espías secretamente, y les dijo: «Id a explorar la tierra y a Jericó.»
Ellos fueron, entraron en casa de una ramera que se llamaba Rahab y se hospedaron allí. 2 Entonces le fue dado este aviso al rey de Jericó:
—Unos hombres de los hijos de Israel han venido aquí esta noche para espiar la tierra.
3 El rey de Jericó mandó a decir a Rahab:
—Saca a los hombres que han venido a verte y han entrado a tu casa, porque han venido para espiar toda la tierra.
4 Pero la mujer había tomado a los dos hombres y los había escondido. Luego dijo:
—Es verdad que unos hombres vinieron a mi casa, pero no supe de dónde eran. 5 Cuando se iba a cerrar la puerta, siendo ya oscuro, esos hombres salieron y no sé a dónde han ido. Seguidlos aprisa y los alcanzaréis.
6 Pero ella los había hecho subir al terrado, y los había escondido entre los manojos de lino que tenía puestos en el terrado.
7 Los hombres salieron tras ellos por el camino del Jordán, hasta los vados, y la puerta fue cerrada después que salieron los perseguidores. 8 Antes que ellos se durmieran, ella subió al terrado y les dijo:
9 —Sé que Jehová os ha dado esta tierra, porque el temor de vosotros ha caído sobre nosotros, y todos los habitantes del país ya han temblado por vuestra causa. 10 Porque hemos oído que Jehová hizo secar las aguas del Mar Rojo delante de vosotros cuando salisteis de Egipto, y también lo que habéis hecho con los dos reyes de los amorreos que estaban al otro lado del Jordán, con Sehón y Og, a los cuales habéis destruido. 11 Al oír esto ha desfallecido nuestro corazón, y no ha quedado hombre alguno con ánimo para resistiros, porque Jehová, vuestro Dios, es Dios arriba en los cielos y abajo en la tierra. 12 Os ruego pues, ahora, que me juréis por Jehová, que como he tenido misericordia de vosotros, así la tendréis vosotros de la casa de mi padre, de lo cual me daréis una señal segura; 13 que salvaréis la vida a mi padre y a mi madre, a mis hermanos y hermanas, y a todo cuanto les pertenece, y que libraréis nuestras vidas de la muerte.
14 Ellos le respondieron:
—Nuestra vida responderá por la vuestra, si no denuncias este asunto nuestro; y cuando Jehová nos haya dado la tierra, te trataremos con bondad y lealtad.
15 Entonces ella los hizo descender con una cuerda por la ventana, pues su casa estaba en el muro de la ciudad y ella vivía en el muro. 16 Les dijo:
—Marchaos al monte, para que los que fueron tras vosotros no os encuentren. Estad escondidos allí tres días, hasta que vuelvan los que os siguen; después os iréis por vuestro camino.
17 Ellos le dijeron:
—Nosotros quedaremos libres de este juramento que te hemos hecho. 18 Cuando nosotros entremos en la tierra, tú atarás este cordón de grana a la ventana por la cual nos descolgaste, y reunirás en tu casa a tu padre y a tu madre, a tus hermanos y a toda la familia de tu padre. 19 Cualquiera que salga fuera de las puertas de tu casa, su sangre caerá sobre su cabeza y nosotros seremos sin culpa. Pero cualquiera que esté en la casa contigo, su sangre caerá sobre nuestra cabeza, si alguna mano lo toca. 20 Y si tú denuncias este nuestro asunto, nosotros quedaremos libres de este juramento que te hemos hecho.
21 —Sea así como habéis dicho —respondió ella.
Luego los despidió; ellos se fueron y ella ató el cordón de grana a la ventana.
22 Marcharon ellos, llegaron al monte y se quedaron allí tres días, hasta que volvieron los que los perseguían, quienes los habían buscado por todo el camino, sin hallarlos. 23 Entonces volvieron los dos hombres a descender del monte, pasaron, y cuando llegaron adonde estaba Josué hijo de Nun, le contaron todas las cosas que les habían acontecido. 24 Dijeron a Josué: «Jehová ha entregado toda la tierra en nuestras manos; todos los habitantes del país tiemblan ante nosotros.»
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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