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¹ AND Joshua the son of Nun sent out from Shittim two men who were familiar with the land, and said to them, Go view the land of Jericho. And they went, and came into the house of a woman who was a harlot, named Rahab, and lodged there.² And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came certain men here tonight from the children of Israel to spy in the country.³ So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying. Bring forth the men that have entered into your house at night; for they have come to spy in the country.⁴ And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said, Truly the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from;⁵ And it came to pass about the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, they went out; and I did not know where they went. Pursue them quickly; for you will overtake them.⁶ But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them beneath the stalks of flax which she had piled up on the roof.⁷ And the men pursued after them by the way of the Jordan to the fords; and after the pursuers were gone out after the spies, they shut the gate.

⁸ And before they lay down, she came up to them upon the roof;⁹ And she said to the men, I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that your terror has fallen upon us, and that also all the inhabitants of the land are terrified because of you.¹⁰ For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.¹¹ And when we heard these things, our hearts trembled, neither did there remain any more courage in any one of us, because of you; for the LORD your God, is he who is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.¹² Now therefore, swear to me by the LORD, because I have showed you kindness, that you also will show kindness to me and to my fathers household, and give me a true sign;¹³ And that you will save alive my father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters, and all that belongs to us, and deliver our lives from death.¹⁴ And the men said to her, We will give our lives to death instead of you, if you will not disclose this affair. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us this land, then we will deal kindly and truly with you.¹⁵ Then she let them down by a rope through the window; for her house was joined to the city wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.¹⁶ And she said to them, Go by way of the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned, and then you shall go on your way.¹⁷ And the men said to her, We will be blameless of this oath which you have made us swear.¹⁸ Behold, when we come into the land, you must bind this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down; and you shall bring your father and your mother and your brothers and all your fathers household home to you.¹⁹ And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the door of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his head, and we will be guiltless; and whosoever shall be with you in the house, his blood shall be on our heads, and we are guilty if any man should harm him.²⁰ And if you disclose this affair, then we will be absolved from this oath which you have made us swear.²¹ And she said, According to your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed; and she bound the scarlet cord in the window.

²² And they went to the mountain, and stayed there three days, until the pursuers were returned; and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, and when they failed to find them, they returned.²³ So the two spies came down from the mountain, and passed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen them.²⁴ And they said to Joshua, The LORD has delivered all the land into our hands; for the inhabitants of the land are afraid of us.