| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there. | 1Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night. |
| 2And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country. | 2But someone told the king of Jericho, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” |
| 3And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country. | 3So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: “Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come here to spy out the whole land.” |
| 4And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: | 4Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from. |
| 5And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. | 5They left the town at dusk, as the gates were about to close. I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.” |
| 6But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. | 6(Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.) |
| 7And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate. | 7So the king’s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king’s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut. |
| 8And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; | 8Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. |
| 9And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. | 9“I know the LORD has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. |
| 10For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. | 10For we have heard how the LORD made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. |
| 11And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. | 11No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below. |
| 12Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token: | 12“Now swear to me by the LORD that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that |
| 13And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. | 13when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.” |
| 14And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. | 14“We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety,” the men agreed. “If you don’t betray us, we will keep our promise and be kind to you when the LORD gives us the land.” |
| 15Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. | 15Then, since Rahab’s house was built into the town wall, she let them down by a rope through the window. |
| 16And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way. | 16“Escape to the hill country,” she told them. “Hide there for three days from the men searching for you. Then, when they have returned, you can go on your way.” |
| 17And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. | 17Before they left, the men told her, “We will be bound by the oath we have taken only if you follow these instructions. |
| 18Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee. | 18When we come into the land, you must leave this scarlet rope hanging from the window through which you let us down. And all your family members—your father, mother, brothers, and all your relatives—must be here inside the house. |
| 19And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. | 19If they go out into the street and are killed, it will not be our fault. But if anyone lays a hand on people inside this house, we will accept the responsibility for their death. |
| 20And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. | 20If you betray us, however, we are not bound by this oath in any way.” |
| 21And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window. | 21“I accept your terms,” she replied. And she sent them on their way, leaving the scarlet rope hanging from the window. |
| 22And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not. | 22The spies went up into the hill country and stayed there three days. The men who were chasing them searched everywhere along the road, but they finally returned without success. |
| 23So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them: | 23Then the two spies came down from the hill country, crossed the Jordan River, and reported to Joshua all that had happened to them. |
| 24And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us. | 24“The LORD has given us the whole land,” they said, “for all the people in the land are terrified of us.” |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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