Joshua 2
Lexham English Bible
Spies View the Land
2 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men from Acacia Grove[a] as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and spent the night[b] there. 2 The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some men from the Israelites[c] have come here tonight to search out the land.” 3 And the king of Jericho sent for Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who came to you, the ones who have entered your house, for they have come to search out the whole land.” 4 But the woman took the two men and hid them. And she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 And when it was time to shut the gate for the night,[d] the men left, and I do not know where they went. Chase after them quickly, for you may catch up to them.” 6 (But she had taken them to the roof and had hidden them in the stalks of flax[e] that she had spread out[f] on the roof.) 7 So the men chased after them on the way to the Jordan[g] at the fords; and they shut the gate behind the pursuers that had gone out after them.
8 Before they went to sleep,[h] she came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men, “I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away in fear because of your presence. 10 For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the waters of the Red Sea[i] before you when you went out from Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11 We heard this, and our hearts[j] melted, and no courage was left in anyone[k] because of your presence. For Yahweh your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below. 12 So then please swear to me by Yahweh, because I have shown loyalty to you,[l] and you will also show loyalty[m] to my family.[n] You must give me a sign of good faith,[o] 13 and you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all that belongs to them; you will deliver our lives from death.” 14 And the men said to her, “Our lives for yours.[p] If you do not report this business of ours, we will show you loyalty and faithfulness[q] when Yahweh gives us the land.”
15 Then she lowered them with a rope through the window, as her house was on the outer side of the wall, and she was residing in the wall. 16 And she said to them, “Go to the mountain, so that the pursuers will not find you, and hide yourselves there three days until the pursuers return, and afterward you may go on your way.”[r] 17 The men said to her, “We will be released from this oath of yours that you made us swear. 18 When we come to the land, you must tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you must gather your father and mother, and your brothers, and your whole family to your house. 19 If anyone goes outside the doors of your house, they will be responsible for their own death,[s] and we will be innocent. Anyone who will be with you in the house, we will be responsible for their death[t] if a hand is laid on them.[u] 20 But if you report this business of ours, we will be released from your oath that you made us swear.” 21 And she said, “According to your word it will be.” Then she sent them away, and they went, and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
22 They departed and came to the mountain, and they stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers searched all along the way[v] but did not find them. 23 The two men returned and went down from the mountain, and they crossed over and came to Joshua son of Nun, and they told him everything that happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, “Surely Yahweh has given all the land into our hand; also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away in fear because of our presence.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 2:1 Hebrew “Shittim”
- Joshua 2:1 Literally “lay down”
- Joshua 2:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Joshua 2:5 Literally “in the darkness” or “at dark”
- Joshua 2:6 Literally “in the flaxes of the plant stalk”
- Joshua 2:6 Literally “had been arranged”
- Joshua 2:7 Literally “the road of the Jordan”
- Joshua 2:8 Literally “they lay down”
- Joshua 2:10 Literally “sea of reeds”
- Joshua 2:11 Hebrew “heart”
- Joshua 2:11 Literally “a spirit no longer stood in anyone”
- Joshua 2:12 Literally “I have done with you a loyal love”
- Joshua 2:12 Literally “you will do … loyal love”
- Joshua 2:12 Literally “with the house of my father”
- Joshua 2:12 Or “faithfulness”
- Joshua 2:14 Literally “Our lives in place of yours to die”
- Joshua 2:14 Literally “we will do with you loyal love and faithfulness”
- Joshua 2:16 Literally “to your way”
- Joshua 2:19 Literally “his blood will be on his head”
- Joshua 2:19 Literally “his blood will be on our head”
- Joshua 2:19 Literally “if a hand will be against him”
- Joshua 2:22 Literally “on all of the road”
Joshua 2
World English Bible
2 Joshua the son of Nun secretly sent two men out of Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, including Jericho.” They went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and slept there.
2 The king of Jericho was told, “Behold,[a] men of the children of Israel came in here tonight to spy out the land.”
3 Jericho’s king sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered into your house; for they have come to spy out all the land.”
4 The woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I didn’t know where they came from. 5 About the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, the men went out. Where the men went, I don’t know. Pursue them quickly. You may catch up with them.” 6 But she had brought them up to the roof, and hidden them under the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof. 7 The men pursued them along the way to the fords of the Jordan River. As soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate. 8 Before they had lain down, she came up to them on the roof. 9 She said to the men, “I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11 As soon as we had heard it, our hearts melted, and there wasn’t any more spirit in any man, because of you: for Yahweh your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath. 12 Now therefore, please swear to me by Yahweh, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a true sign; 13 and that you will save alive my father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and will deliver our lives from death.”
14 The men said to her, “Our life for yours, if you don’t talk about this business of ours; and it shall be, when Yahweh gives us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.”
15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window; for her house was on the side of the wall, and she lived on the wall. 16 She said to them, “Go to the mountain, lest the pursuers find you. Hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward, you may go your way.”
17 The men said to her, “We will be guiltless of this your oath which you’ve made us to swear. 18 Behold, when we come into the land, tie this line of scarlet thread in the window which you used to let us down. Gather to yourself into the house your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. 19 It shall be that whoever goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood will be on his head, and we will be guiltless. Whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand is on him. 20 But if you talk about this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless of your oath which you’ve made us to swear.”
21 She said, “Let it be as you have said.” She sent them away, and they departed. Then she tied the scarlet line in the window.
22 They went and came to the mountain, and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but didn’t find them. 23 Then the two men returned, descended from the mountain, crossed the river, and came to Joshua the son of Nun. They told him all that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, “Truly Yahweh has delivered all the land into our hands. Moreover, all the inhabitants of the land melt away before us.”
Footnotes
- 2:2 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.
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