1 Then Ioshua the sonne of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spie secretly, saying, Go, view the land, and also Iericho: and they went, and came into an harlots house, named Rahab, and lodged there. 2 Then report was made to the King of Iericho, saying, Beholde, there came men hither to night, of the children of Israel, to spie out the countrey. 3 And the King of Iericho sent vnto Rahab, saying, Bring foorth the men that are come to thee, and which are entred into thine house: for they be come to search out all the land. 4 (But ye woman had taken the two men, and hid them) Therefore saide she thus, There came men vnto me, but I wist not whence they were. 5 And when they shut the gate in the darke, the men went out, whither the men went I wote not: follow ye after them quickly, for ye shall ouertake them. 6 (But she had brought them vp to the roofe of the house, and hidde them with the stalkes of flaxe, which she had spread abroad vpon the roofe) 7 And certaine men pursued after them, the way to Iorden, vnto the foordes, and as soone as they which pursued after them, were gone out, they shut the gate. 8 And before they were a sleepe, she came vp vnto them vpon the roofe, 9 And saide vnto the men, I knowe that the Lord hath giuen you the land, and that the feare of you is fallen vpon vs, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 10 For we haue heard, howe the Lord dried vp the water of the redde Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt, and what you did vnto the two Kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Iorden, vnto Sihon and to Og, whom ye vtterly destroyed: 11 And when wee heard it, our heartes did faint, and there remained no more courage in any because of you: for the Lord your God, he is the God in heauen aboue, and in earth beneath. 12 Now therefore, I pray you, sweare vnto me by the Lord; that as I haue shewed you mercie, ye will also shewe mercie vnto my fathers house, and giue me a true token, 13 And that yee will saue aliue my father and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they haue: and that yee will deliuer our soules from death. 14 And the men answered her, Our life for you to die, if ye vtter not this our businesse: and when the Lord hath giuen vs the lande, we will deale mercifully and truely with thee. 15 Then she let them downe by a corde thorowe the windowe: for her house was vpon the towne wall, and she dwelt vpon the wall. 16 And she said vnto them, Goe you into the mountaine, least the pursuers meete with you, and hide your selues there three dayes, vntill the pursuers be returned: then afterwarde may yee goe your way. 17 And the men said vnto her, We will be blamelesse of this thine othe, which thou hast made vs sweare. 18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this cord of red threde in the window, whereby thou lettest vs downe, and thou shalt bring thy father and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy fathers houshold home to thee. 19 And whosoeuer then doeth goe out at the doores of thine house into the streete, his blood shalbe vpon his head, and we will be giltlesse: but whosoeuer shall be with thee in the house, his blood shalbe on our head, if any hande touch him: 20 And if thou vtter this our matter, we will be quite of thine othe, which thou hast made vs sweare. 21 And she answered, According vnto your wordes, so be it: then she sent them away, and they departed, and she bound the red cord in ye window. 22 And they departed, and came into the mountaine, and there abode three dayes, vntil the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but founde them not. 23 So the two men returned, and descended from the mountaine, and passed ouer, and came to Ioshua the sonne of Nun, and tolde him all things that came vnto them. 24 Also they saide vnto Ioshua, Surely the Lord hath deliuered into our handes all the lande: for euen all the inhabitants of the countrey faint because of vs.
Joshua Sends Spies into Jericho
1 Then Joshua sent two spies from the camp at Acacia with orders to go and secretly explore the land of Canaan, especially the city of Jericho. When they came to the city, they went to spend the night in the house of a prostitute named Rahab. 2 The king of Jericho heard that some Israelites had come that night to spy out the country, 3 so he sent word to Rahab: “The men in your house have come to spy out the whole country! Bring them out!”
4-6 “Some men did come to my house,” she answered, “but I don't know where they were from. They left at sundown before the city gate was closed. I didn't find out where they were going, but if you start after them quickly, you can catch them.” (Now Rahab had taken the two spies up on the roof and hidden them under some stalks of flax that she had put there.) 7 The king's men left the city, and then the gate was shut. They went looking for the Israelite spies as far as the place where the road crosses the Jordan.
8 Before the spies settled down for the night, Rahab went up on the roof 9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land. Everyone in the country is terrified of you. 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea in front of you when you were leaving Egypt. We have also heard how you killed Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. 11 We were afraid as soon as we heard about it; we have all lost our courage because of you. The Lord your God is God in heaven above and here on earth. 12 Now swear by him that you will treat my family as kindly as I have treated you, and give me some sign that I can trust you. 13 Promise me that you will save my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families! Don't let us be killed!”
14 The men said to her, “May God take our lives if we don't do as we say! If you do not tell anyone what we have been doing, we promise you that when the Lord gives us this land, we will treat you well.”
15 Rahab lived in a house built into the city wall, so she let the men down from the window by a rope. 16 “Go into the hill country,” she said, “or the king's men will find you. Hide there for three days until they come back. After that, you can go on your way.”
17 The men said to her, “We will keep the promise that you have made us give. 18 This is what you must do. When we invade your land, tie this red cord to the window you let us down from. Get your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father's family together in your house. 19 If anyone goes out of the house, his death will be his own fault, and we will not be responsible; but if anyone in the house with you is harmed, then we will be responsible. 20 However, if you tell anyone what we have been doing, then we will not have to keep our promise which you have made us give you.” 21 She agreed and sent them away. When they had gone, she tied the red cord to the window.
22 The spies went into the hills and hid. The king's men looked for them all over the countryside for three days, but they did not find them, so they returned to Jericho. 23 Then the two spies came down from the hills, crossed the river, and went back to Joshua. They told him everything that had happened, 24 and then said, “We are sure that the Lord has given us the whole country. All the people there are terrified of us.”