Joshua 2

¹Joshua 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.

²The king of Jericho was told, "Behold, men of the children of Israel came in here tonight to spy out the land."

³The king of Jericho 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."

⁴The 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.

⁵It happened about the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went, I don't know. Pursue them quickly; for you will overtake them."

⁶But she had brought them up to the roof, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.

⁷The men pursued them the way to the Jordan to the fords: and as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.

⁸Before they had laid down, she came up to them on the roof;

⁹and she said to the men, "I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.

¹⁰For 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.

¹¹As soon as we had heard it, our hearts melted, neither did there remain any more spirit in any man, because of you: for Yahweh your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath.

¹²Now 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 token;

¹³and 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."

¹⁴The 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."

¹⁵Then 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.

¹⁶She said to them, "Go to the mountain, lest the pursuers find you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward, you may go your way."

¹⁷The men said to her, "We will be guiltless of this your oath which you have made us to swear.

¹⁸Behold, when we come into the land, you shall bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which you did let us down by. You shall gather to yourself into the house your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household.

¹⁹It 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.

²⁰But if you talk about this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless of your oath which you have made us to swear."

²¹She said, "According to your words, so be it." She sent them away, and they departed. She tied the scarlet line in the window.

²²They went, and came to the mountain, and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had returned. The pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but didn't find them.

²³Then the two men returned, descended from the mountain, passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun; and they told him all that had happened to them.

²⁴They said to Joshua, "Truly Yahweh has delivered into our hands all the land. Moreover, all the inhabitants of the land melt away before us."