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.”

The Destruction of Jericho

6 Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out, and no one came in. ² And Yahweh said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with ^(A)its king and the valiant warriors. ³ And you shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. ⁴ Also seven priests shall carry seven ^(B)trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. ⁵ And it will be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down ^[a]beneath itself, and the people will go up every man ^[b]straight ahead.”

⁶ So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Carry the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of Yahweh.” ⁷ Then ^[c]he said to the people, “Go forward, and march around the city, and let the armed men go on before the ark of Yahweh.” ⁸ And so it happened that, when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before Yahweh passed on forward and blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came after them. ⁹ And the armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and ^(C)the rear guard came after the ark, while they continued to blow the trumpets. ¹⁰ But Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout!” ¹¹ So he had the ark of Yahweh ^[d]taken around the city, circling it once; then they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

¹² Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests carried the ark of Yahweh. ^13 (D)And the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of Yahweh went on continually and blew the trumpets; and the armed men went before them, and ^(E)the rear guard came after the ark of Yahweh, and they continued to blow the trumpets. ¹⁴ Thus the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp; they did so for six days.

¹⁵ Then it happened that on the seventh day they rose early at the ^[e]breaking of dawn and marched around the city in the same manner seven times; only on that day they marched around the city seven times. ¹⁶ Now it happened that on the seventh time, the priests blew the trumpets, and Joshua said to the people, “^(F)Shout! For Yahweh has given you the city. ¹⁷ And the city shall be ^(G)devoted to destruction, it and all that is in it belongs to Yahweh; only Rahab the harlot ^[f]and all who are with her in the house shall live because she hid the messengers whom we sent. ¹⁸ But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest as you are devoting them to destruction, you also ^(H)take some of the things devoted to destruction and make the camp of Israel devoted to destruction and bring trouble on it. ^19 (I)But all the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron are holy to Yahweh; they shall go into the treasury of Yahweh.” ²⁰ So the people shouted, and ^[g]the priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout, and the ^(J)wall fell down ^[h]beneath itself, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ^[i]ahead, and they took the city. ^21 (K)And they devoted to destruction everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

²² Now to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, “^(L)Go into the harlot’s house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, as you have sworn to her.” ²³ So the young men who were spies went in and ^(M)brought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers and all she had; they also brought out all her relatives and placed them outside the camp of Israel. ^24 (N)But they burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the ^[j]house of Yahweh. ²⁵ However, ^(O)Rahab the harlot and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua preserved alive; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for ^(P)she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

²⁶ Then Joshua made them swear an oath at that time, saying, “^(Q)Cursed before Yahweh is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates.” ²⁷ So ^(R)Yahweh was with Joshua, and the ^(S)report about him was in all the land.