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Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Wycliffe Bible

Joshua 2:14

Whiche answeriden to hir, Oure lijf be for you in to deeth, if netheles thou bitraiest not vs; and whanne the Lord hath bitake to vs the lond, we schulen do mercy and treuthe in thee.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Armies;   Hospitality;   Kindness;   Oath;   Reconnoissance;   Treaty;   Thompson Chain Reference - Bible Stories for Children;   Children;   Home;   Pleasant Sunday Afternoons;   Religion;   Stories for Children;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Rahab;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Family Life and Relations;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Jericho;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Architecture in the Biblical Period;   Joshua, the Book of;   Kindness;   Mercy, Merciful;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Hoshea;   Jericho;   Joshua;   Rahab;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Truth (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Jericho;   Rahab, Rachab ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Jericho;   Rahab;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Shittim;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Jer'icho;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Conquest of Canaan;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Business;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The men answered her, “We will give our lives for yours. If you don’t report our mission, we will show kindness and faithfulness to you when the Lord gives us the land.”
Hebrew Names Version
The men said to her, Our life for yours, if you don't utter this our business; and it shall be, when the LORD gives us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.
King James Version
And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the Lord hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.
Lexham English Bible
And the men said to her, "Our lives for yours. If you do not report this business of ours, we will show you loyalty and faithfulness when Yahweh gives us the land."
English Standard Version
And 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."
New Century Version
The men agreed and said, "It will be our lives for your lives if you don't tell anyone what we are doing. When the Lord gives us the land, we will be kind and true to you."
New English Translation
The men said to her, "If you die, may we die too! If you do not report what we've been up to, then, when the Lord hands the land over to us, we will show unswerving allegiance to you."
Amplified Bible
So the men said to her, "Our lives for yours if you do not tell [anyone about] this business of ours; then when the LORD gives us the land we will show you kindness and faithfulness [and keep our agreement with you]."
New American Standard Bible
So the men said to her, "Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the LORD gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you."
Geneva Bible (1587)
And the men answered her, Our life for you to die, if ye vtter not this our businesse: and when the Lorde hath giuen vs the lande, we will deale mercifully and truely with thee.
Legacy Standard Bible
So the men said to her, "Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it will be when Yahweh gives us the land that we will show lovingkindness and truth to you."
Contemporary English Version
"Rahab," the spies answered, "if you keep quiet about what we're doing, we promise to be kind to you when the Lord gives us this land. We pray that the Lord will kill us if we don't keep our promise!"
Complete Jewish Bible
The men replied to her, "Our lives are certainly worth yours, provided you don't betray our mission. So when Adonai gives us the land, we will treat you kindly and in good faith."
Darby Translation
And the men said to her, Our lives shall pay for yours, if ye do not make this our business known; and it shall be when Jehovah shall give us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.
Easy-to-Read Version
The men agreed and said, "We will trade our lives for yours. Don't tell anyone what we are doing. Then, when the Lord gives us the land, we will be kind to you. You can trust us."
George Lamsa Translation
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.
Good News Translation
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."
Literal Translation
And the men said to her, Our life instead of yours, if you do not tell this matter of ours, then it shall be, when Jehovah gives this land to us that we shall deal with you in kindness and truth.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The men sayde vnto her: Yf we shewe not mercy and faithfulnesse vpon the, whan the LORDE geueth vs the londe, then let oure soule dye for you, so farre as thou betrayest not oure deuyce.
American Standard Version
And the men said unto her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business; and it shall be, when Jehovah giveth us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.
Bible in Basic English
And the men said to her, Our life for yours if you keep our business secret; and when the Lord has given us the land, we will keep faith and be kind to you.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the men aunswered her: Our lyues for you to dye, yf ye vtter not this our busynesse. And when the Lorde hath geuen vs the lande, we wyll deale mercyfully and truely with thee.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the men said unto her: 'Our life for yours, if ye tell not this our business; and it shall be, when the LORD giveth us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.'
King James Version (1611)
And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if yee vtter not this our businesse. And it shall bee when the Lord hath giuen vs the land, that wee will deale kindely and truely with thee.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the men said to her, Our life for yours even to death: and she said, When the Lord shall have delivered the city to you, ye shall deal mercifully and truly with me.
English Revised Version
And the men said unto her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business; and it shall be, when the LORD giveth us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.
Berean Standard Bible
"Our lives for your lives!" the men agreed. "If you do not report our mission, we will show you kindness and faithfulness when the LORD gives us the land."
Young's Literal Translation
And the men say to her, `Our soul for yours -- to die; if ye declare not this our matter, then it hath been, in Jehovah's giving to us this land, that we have done with thee kindness and truth.'
Update Bible Version
And the men said to her, Our life for yours, if you do not utter this business of ours; then it shall be, when Yahweh gives us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.
Webster's Bible Translation
And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.
World English Bible
The men said to her, Our life for yours, if you don't utter this our business; and it shall be, when Yahweh gives us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.
New King James Version
So the men answered her, "Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you."
New Living Translation
"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."
New Life Bible
So the men said to her, "Our life for yours! If you do not tell anyone what we are doing, we will be faithful and show you kindness when the Lord gives us the land."
New Revised Standard
The men said to her, "Our life for yours! If you do not tell this business of ours, then we will deal kindly and faithfully with you when the Lord gives us the land."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the men said unto her, Our souls in your stead unto death, if ye utter not this our business, - so shall it be, when Yahweh shall give us the land, that we will deal with thee in lovingkindness and in faithfulness.
Douay-Rheims Bible
They answered her: Be our lives for you unto death, only if thou betray us not. And when the Lord shall have delivered us the land, we will shew thee mercy and truth.
Revised Standard Version
And the men said to her, "Our life for yours! If you do not tell this business of ours, then we will deal kindly and faithfully with you when the LORD gives us the land."
THE MESSAGE
"Our lives for yours!" said the men. "But don't tell anyone our business. When God turns this land over to us, we'll do right by you in loyal mercy."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
So the men said to her, "Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the LORD gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you."

Contextual Overview

8 Thei that weren hid, slepten not yit, and lo! the womman stiede to hem, and seide, 9 Y knowe that the Lord hath bitake to you this lond; for youre feerdfulnesse felde in to vs, and alle the dwelleris of the lond `weren sike. 10 We herden, that the Lord driede the watris of the Reed See at youre entryng, whanne ye yeden out of Egipt; and what thingis ye diden to twei kyngis of Ammorreis, that weren biyende Jordan, to Seon and Og, whiche ye killiden; 11 and we herden these thingis, and we dredden, and oure herte `was sike, and spirit dwellide not in vs at youre entryng; for youre Lord God hym silf is God in heuene aboue, and in erthe bynethe. 12 Now therfor swere ye to me bi the Lord God, that as Y dide merci with you, so and ye do with the hows of my fadir; and yyue ye to me a veri signe, 13 that ye saue my fadir and modir, and my britheren and sistris, and alle thingis that ben herne, and dilyuere oure lyues fro deeth. 14 Whiche answeriden to hir, Oure lijf be for you in to deeth, if netheles thou bitraiest not vs; and whanne the Lord hath bitake to vs the lond, we schulen do mercy and treuthe in thee. 15 Therfor sche let hem doun fro the wyndow bi a corde; for hir hows cleuyde to the wal. 16 And sche seide to hem, Stie ye to the hilli places, lest perauenture men turnynge ayen meete you; and be ye hidde there three daies, til thei comen ayen; and so ye schulen go bi youre weie. 17 Whiche seiden to hir, We schulen be giltles of this ooth, bi which thou hast chargid vs,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

for yours: Heb. instead of you to die, 1 Kings 20:39

when the Lord: Joshua 6:17, Joshua 6:25, Genesis 24:49, Numbers 10:29-32, Judges 1:24, Judges 1:25, 1 Samuel 20:8, 2 Samuel 9:1, Proverbs 18:24, Matthew 5:7

Reciprocal: Leviticus 5:4 - to do evil Deuteronomy 7:2 - make no Joshua 2:19 - his blood Proverbs 11:13 - he Acts 23:22 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 10:11
Assur yede out of that lond, and bildide Nynyue, `and stretis of the citee,
Genesis 10:22
The sones of Sem weren Elam, and Assur, and Arfaxath, and Lud, and Aram.
Genesis 15:18
In that dai the Lord made a couenaunt of pees with Abram, and seide, Y schal yyue to thi seed this lond, fro the ryuer of Egipt til to the greet ryuer Eufrates; Cyneis,
Genesis 25:18
Forsothe he enhabitide fro Euila til to Sur, that biholdith Egipt, as me entrith in to Assiriens; he diede bifore alle his britheren.
Deuteronomy 1:7
turne ye ayen, and come ye to the hil of Amorreis, and to othere placis that ben next it; to places of feeldis, and of hillis, and to lowere places ayens the south, and bisidis the brenke of the see, to the lond of Cananeys, and of Liban, `til to the greet flood Eufrates.
Deuteronomy 11:24
Ech place which youre foot schal trede, schal be youre; fro the deseert, and fro the Liban, and fro the greet flood Eufrates `til to the west see, schulen be youre termes.
Daniel 10:4
Forsothe in the foure and twentithe dai of the firste monethe, Y was bisidis the greet flood, which is Tigris.
Revelation 9:14
and seide to the sixte aungel that hadde a trumpe, Vnbynde thou foure aungels, that ben boundun in the greet flood Eufrates.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the men answered her,.... The two spies:

our life for yours; or "our souls in your stead to die" i; that is, we engage for the security of your lives, should they be in danger; we promise to die in your room and stead rather than you should: this they said not as though their lives would be required of them for them, but to assure her of the safety of her and her father's house, on the following condition:

if ye utter not this our business; not their business in searching the land, for the discovery of that would be of little avail after they were gone; for it was known already that there were persons come to search the land; but "this our word" k, what they were going to say to her and bid her do, as a sign of safety to her and hers; which, if she discovered, others would give out the same sign, and then they could not promise her safety; or if she did not take care to bring in her father, mother, brethren, and sisters, and theirs into her house, they could not engage to protect them:

and it shall be, when the Lord hath given us the land; not the whole land, but Jericho and the laud about it, that when that part of it should be delivered into their hands:

that we will deal kindly and truly with thee; "kindly", by sparing her and her father's house; "truly", by faithfully performing the promise and oath they made to her.

i נפשנו תחתיכם למות "anima nostra pro vobis ad moriendum", Pagninus, Montanus. k את דברנו זה "verbum nostrum hoc", Pagninus, Montanus; "sermonem nostrum hunc", Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Our life for yours - See the margin. This is (see Joshua 2:17) a form of oath, in which God is in effect invoked to punish them with death if they did not perform their promise to save Rahab’s life. Compare the more common form of oath, 1 Samuel 1:26, etc.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Joshua 2:14. Our life for yours — "May our life be destroyed if we suffer yours to be injured!" This is what was anciently called in our country pledging - staking, a man's life for that of his neighbour or friend.


 
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