| New Living Translation | English Standard Version |
| 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. | 1And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. |
| 2But someone told the king of Jericho, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” | 2And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.” |
| 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.” | 3Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” |
| 4Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from. | 4But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. |
| 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.” | 5And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” |
| 6(Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.) | 6But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. |
| 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. | 7So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out. |
| 8Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. | 8Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof |
| 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. | 9and said to the men, “I know that the LORD 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. |
| 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. | 10For we have heard how the LORD 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 Og, whom you devoted to destruction. |
| 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. | 11And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. |
| 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 | 12Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign |
| 13when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.” | 13that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” |
| 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.” | 14And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the LORD gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.” |
| 15Then, since Rahab’s house was built into the town wall, she let them down by a rope through the window. | 15Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall. |
| 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.” | 16And she said to them, “Go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you, and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way.” |
| 17Before they left, the men told her, “We will be bound by the oath we have taken only if you follow these instructions. | 17The men said to her, “We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear. |
| 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. | 18Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. |
| 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. | 19Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. |
| 20If you betray us, however, we are not bound by this oath in any way.” | 20But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made us swear.” |
| 21“I accept your terms,” she replied. And she sent them on their way, leaving the scarlet rope hanging from the window. | 21And she said, “According to your words, so be it.” Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window. |
| 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. | 22They departed and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers returned, and the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing. |
| 23Then the two spies came down from the hill country, crossed the Jordan River, and reported to Joshua all that had happened to them. | 23Then the two men returned. They came down from the hills and passed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they told him all that had happened to them. |
| 24“The LORD has given us the whole land,” they said, “for all the people in the land are terrified of us.” | 24And they said to Joshua, “Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.” |
| 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. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. |
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