Shared Word Translation
Joshua 2
Rahab Hides the Spies
Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, see the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a woman, a prostitute, whose name was Rahab, and they lodged there. It was told to the king of Jericho, saying, “Look, men from the children of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.” Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who came to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” But the woman took the two men and hid them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. When the gate was about to be shut at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof. So the men pursued them along the road to the Jordan as far as the fords. As soon as those who pursued them had gone out, the gate was shut.
Rahab Confesses the LORD
Before the spies lay down, she came up to them on the roof. She said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that terror of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Sea of Reeds before you when you came out from Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. When we heard it, our hearts melted, and no spirit remained in anyone because of you. For the LORD your God—he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.
The Spies Swear to Rahab
Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you steadfast love, that you also will show steadfast love to my father’s house. Give me a reliable sign that you will preserve alive my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all who belong to them, and rescue our lives from death.” The men said to her, “Our lives for yours, even to death, if you do not tell this matter of ours. When the LORD gives us the land, we will deal with you in steadfast love and faithfulness.” Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was in the city wall, and she lived in the wall. She said to them, “Go toward the hill country, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide yourselves there three days until the pursuers return. Afterward you may go your way.” The men said to her, “We will be free from this oath of yours that you made us swear unless, when we enter the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself in the house your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. Whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be innocent. But whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid upon him. But if you tell this matter of ours, then we shall be free from your oath that you made us swear.” She said, “According to your words, so be it.” Then she sent them away, and they went. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
The Spies Return to Joshua
They departed and went into the hill country and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers searched all along the road but did not find them. Then the two men returned. They came down from the hill country, crossed over, and came to Joshua son of Nun. They told him all that had happened to them. They said to Joshua, “Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hand. Moreover, all the inhabitants of the land melt away before us.”