Joshua 2
New International Version
Rahab and the Spies
2 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies(A) from Shittim.(B) “Go, look over(C) the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.(D)” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab(E) and stayed there.
2 The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab:(F) “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”
4 But the woman had taken the two men(G) and hidden them.(H) She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate,(I) they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.”(J) 6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax(K) she had laid out on the roof.)(L) 7 So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan,(M) and as soon as the pursuers(N) had gone out, the gate was shut.
8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof(O) 9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear(P) of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up(Q) the water of the Red Sea[a] for you when you came out of Egypt,(R) and what you did to Sihon and Og,(S) the two kings of the Amorites(T) east of the Jordan,(U) whom you completely destroyed.[b](V) 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear(W) and everyone’s courage failed(X) because of you,(Y) for the Lord your God(Z) is God in heaven above and on the earth(AA) below.
12 “Now then, please swear to me(AB) by the Lord that you will show kindness(AC) to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign(AD) 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them(AE)—and that you will save us from death.”
14 “Our lives for your lives!”(AF) the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully(AG) when the Lord gives us the land.”
15 So she let them down by a rope(AH) through the window,(AI) for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. 16 She said to them, “Go to the hills(AJ) so the pursuers(AK) will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days(AL) until they return, and then go on your way.”(AM)
17 Now the men had said to her, “This oath(AN) you made us swear will not be binding on us 18 unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord(AO) in the window(AP) through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family(AQ) into your house. 19 If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads;(AR) we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head(AS) if a hand is laid on them. 20 But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.(AT)”
21 “Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.”
So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord(AU) in the window.(AV)
22 When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days,(AW) until the pursuers(AX) had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. 23 Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands;(AY) all the people are melting in fear(AZ) because of us.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 2:10 Or the Sea of Reeds
- Joshua 2:10 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
Joshua 2
Legacy Standard Bible
Rahab Hides the Spies
2 Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from (A)Shittim, saying, “Go, see the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and came into the house of (B)a harlot whose name was Rahab and [a]lodged there. 2 And it was told to the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to search 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 search 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 Now it happened 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 may overtake them.” 6 But (D)she had brought them up to the roof and concealed 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 fords; and as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate.
8 Now before they lay down, [b]she came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men, “(E)I know that Yahweh 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 [c]melted away before you. 10 (G)For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the water of the [d]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 [e]devoted to destruction. 11 Indeed we heard it, (I)and our hearts melted, and a courageous spirit no longer rose up in any man because of you; for (J)Yahweh your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. 12 So now, please swear to me by Yahweh, since I have shown lovingkindness to you, that you also will show lovingkindness to my father’s household and give me a (K)pledge of [f]truth, 13 and preserve my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters alive, with all who belong to them, and deliver 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 will be when Yahweh gives us the land that we will (L)show lovingkindness and truth to you.”
The Oath 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, lest the pursuers reach 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 free from this oath [j]to you which you have made us swear, 18 [k]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 to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father’s household. 19 And it will be that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be free; but anyone who is with you in the house, (P)his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. 20 But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be free from the oath which you have made us swear.” 21 And she said, “According to your words, so be it.” So she sent them away, and they went; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
22 And they went and came to the hill country and remained there for three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers had sought them [l]all along the road but had not found them. 23 Then the two men returned and came down from the hill country and crossed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they recounted to him all that had happened to them. 24 And they said to Joshua, “Surely Yahweh has given all the land into our hands; moreover, (Q)all the inhabitants of the land have [m]melted away before us.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 2:1 Lit lay down
- Joshua 2:8 Lit then she
- Joshua 2:9 Or become demoralized
- Joshua 2:10 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Joshua 2:10 Or put under the ban
- Joshua 2:12 Or faithfulness
- Joshua 2:13 Lit souls
- Joshua 2:14 Lit soul
- Joshua 2:14 Lit instead of you to die
- Joshua 2:17 Lit of yours
- Joshua 2:18 Lit behold
- Joshua 2:22 Lit through all the road
- Joshua 2:24 Or become demoralized
Joshua 2
Wycliffe Bible
2 Therefore Joshua, the son of Nun, sent from Shittim two men, spyers in huddles, and said to them, Go ye, and behold ye the land, and the city of Jericho. Which went, and entered into the house of a woman whore, Rahab by name, and rested at her. (And so Joshua, the son of Nun, secretly sent out two spies from Shittim, and said to them, Go ye, and look ye over the land, and the city of Jericho. And they went, and entered into the house of a whore-woman, Rahab by name, and stayed with her.)
2 And it was told, and said to the king of Jericho, Lo! men of the sons of Israel have entered hither by night, to espy the land. (And it was told to the king of Jericho, Lo! some men of the Israelites have come in here by night, to spy out the land.)
3 Therefore the king of Jericho sent to Rahab the whore, and said, Bring out the men, that came to thee, and that entered into thine house; for they be spyers (for they be spies), and they came to behold all the land.
4 And the woman took the men, and hid them, and said, I acknowledge, that they came to me, but I wist not of whence they were; (But earlier, the woman had taken the men, and had hid them, and so she said, I acknowledge, that they came to me, but I knew not where they came from;)
5 and when the gate was closed in darknesses, and they went out together, I know not whither they went (and tonight before the city gate was closed, they went out together, but I do not know where they went); pursue ye them soon, and ye shall overtake them.
6 Forsooth she (had) made the men to go up into the solar of her house, and she (had) covered them with stubble, or sheaves, of flax, that was there.
7 And they, that were sent, followed them by the way that leadeth to the fords of (the) Jordan; and when they were gone out, anon the gate was closed. (And they, who were sent there, followed after them by the way that leadeth to the crossings of the Jordan River; and when they were gone out, at once the city gate was closed.)
8 [And] They that were hid, slept not yet, and lo! the woman went up to them,
9 and said, I know that the Lord hath betaken to you this land; for your fearedfulness is fallen into us, and all the dwellers of the land be abashed. (and she said, I know that the Lord hath delivered this land to you; for we all be afraid of you, and all the inhabitants of the land be greatly panicked.)
10 We have heard, that the Lord hath dried up the waters of the Red Sea at your entering, when ye went out of Egypt; and what things ye did to the two kings of Amorites, that were beyond (the) Jordan, to Sihon and Og, which ye killed; (We have heard, that the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea, or the Sea of Reeds, before you, when ye went out of Egypt; and what ye did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were on the eastern side of the Jordan River, that is, to Sihon and Og, whom ye killed;)
11 and we heard these things, and we dreaded, and our heart was sick, and spirit dwelled not in us at your entering; for the Lord your God himself is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath (and on the earth below).
12 Now therefore swear ye to me by the Lord God, that as I did mercy with you, so and ye do with the house(hold) of my father; and give ye to me a very sign, (And so now swear ye to me by the Lord God, that as I did mercy with you, so ye shall also do mercy with my family; and give ye to me a true sign,)
13 that ye (shall) save my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and [my] sisters, and all things that be theirs, and (shall) deliver our lives from death.
14 Which answered to her, Our life be for you into death, if nevertheless thou betrayest not us; and when the Lord hath betaken to us the land, we shall do mercy and truth with thee. (And they answered to her, Our lives be for yours unto death, if thou betrayest us not; and when the Lord hath delivered the land to us, we shall show mercy and faithfulness to thee.)
15 Then she let them down from the window by a cord; for her house was joined to the town wall.
16 And she said to them, Go ye up to the hilly places, lest peradventure the men turning again meet you; and be ye hid there three days, till they come again; and so ye shall go by your way. (And she said to them, Go ye up to the hills, lest as the men return, they come upon you; and be ye hid there for three days, until they return; and then ye can go on your way.)
17 Which said to her, We shall be guiltless of this oath, by which thou hast charged us,
18 if, when we enter into the land, this red cord is not (shown as) a sign, and thou bindest it not in the window, by which thou lettest us down; and thou gatherest not into thine house thy father, and mother, and brethren, and all thy kindred;
19 the blood of him shall be on his head, that goeth out at the door of thine house, and we shall be guiltless; forsooth the blood of all men that be in the house with thee, shall turn into our head (shall be on our heads), if any man toucheth them.
20 That if thou wilt betray us, and bring forth into the midst this word, we shall be clean of this oath, by which thou hast charged us. (But if thou wilt betray us, and bring forth this word into the midst/and make known our agreement, then we shall be released from this oath, by which thou hast charged us.)
21 And she answered, As ye have spoken, so be it done. And she let go them, that they should go forth (And she let them go, so that they could go forth), and (then) she hanged the red cord in her window.
22 And they went forth, and came into the hilly places, and dwelled there three days, till they turned again that (had) pursued them; for they sought them by each way, and found not them. (And they went forth, and came to the hills, and stayed there for three days, until they who had pursued them returned; for they had sought them every place that they could think of, but could not find them anywhere.)
23 And when the seekers entered into the city again, the spyers turned again, and came down from the hill; and when they had passed [over] (the) Jordan, they came to Joshua, the son of Nun; and they told to him all things that befelled to them, (And after that those who had sought them had entered into the city again, the spies returned, and came down from the hills; and when they had crossed back over the Jordan River, they came to Joshua, the son of Nun; and they told him everything that had happened to them,)
24 and said, The Lord hath betaken all the land into our hands, and all the dwellers thereof be cast down by dread. (and they said, The Lord hath delivered all the land into our hands, and all of its inhabitants be greatly afraid of us.)
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
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
2001 by Terence P. Noble
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

