Joshua 2

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 .

²And it was told to the king of Jericho , Behold , men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the 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 .

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.

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.

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 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 men lay down , she came up to them on the roof

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 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 .

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 .

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

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 .

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 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 .

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 .

¹⁷The men said to her, We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear .

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 .

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 .

²⁰But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made us swear .

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 .

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 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.

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.