Joshua 2:1–12:24

1  And Joshua the son of Nun sent from Shittim two spies secretly, saying, Go, see the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into a harlot’s house, named Rahab, and they lay down there. 2  And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, men have come hither to-night from the children of Israel to search out the land. 3  And the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that have come to thee, who have come into thy house: for they have come to search out all the land. 4  And the woman had taken and concealed the two men; and she said, Yes, the men did come unto me, but I knew not whence they were; 5  and it came to pass when the gate had to be closed, at dark, that the men went out: I know not whither the men have gone. Pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. 6  But she had taken them up to the roof, and secreted them under the stalks of flax, which she had laid out on the roof. 7  And the men pursued after them the way to the Jordan, to the fords; and when they who pursued after them had gone out, they closed the gate.

8  And before they had lain down, she went up to them upon the roof; 9  and said to the men, I know that Jehovah has given you the land, and that the dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 10  For we have heard that Jehovah dried up the waters of the Red sea before you when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 11  We heard of it, and our heart melted, and there remained no more spirit in any man because of you; for Jehovah your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. 12  And now, I pray you, swear to me by Jehovah, since I have dealt kindly with you, that ye will also deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a certain sign, 13  that ye will let my father live, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that belong to them, and deliver our souls from death. 14  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. 15  And she let them down by a cord through the window; for her house was upon the city-wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. 16  And she said to them, Go to the mountain, that the pursuers may not meet with you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned; and afterwards go your way. 17  And the men said to her, We will be quit of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. 18  Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind in the window this line of scarlet thread by which thou hast let us down; and thou shalt gather to thee in the house thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household; 19  and it shall be, that whoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, —his blood shall be upon his head, and we shall be innocent; but every one who shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be upon our head, if any hand be upon him. 20  And if thou make known this our business, we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast 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 line in the window.

22  And they went, and came to the mountain, and remained there three days, until the pursuers had returned; and the pursuers sought them all the way, and found them not. 23  And the two men returned and came down from the mountain, and went over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and related to him everything that had happened to them. 24  And they said to Joshua, Of a surety Jehovah has given the whole land into our hands, and even all the inhabitants of the land faint because of us.

Chapter 3

1  And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2  And it came to pass at the end of three days, that the officers went through the camp; 3  and they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then remove from your place, and go after it; 4  yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Ye shall not come near it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore. 5  And Joshua said to the people, Hallow yourselves; for to-morrow Jehovah will do wonders in your midst. 6  And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and go over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.

7  And Jehovah said to Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so will I be with thee. 8  And thou shalt command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, stand still in the Jordan. 9  And Joshua said to the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of Jehovah your God. 10  And Joshua said, Hereby shall ye know that the living •God is in your midst, and that he will without fail dispossess from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11  Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going over before you into the Jordan. 12  And now take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. 13  And it shall come to pass, when the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of Jehovah, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan, the waters flowing down from above, shall be cut off, and shall stand up in a heap.

14  And it came to pass when the people removed from their tents, to pass over the Jordan, that the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were before the people; 15  and when they that bore the ark were come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (and the Jordan is full over all its banks throughout the days of harvest), 16  the waters which flowed down from above stood and rose up in a heap, very far, by Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan; and those that flowed down towards the sea of the plain, the salt sea, were completely cut off. And the people went over opposite to Jericho. 17  And the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan. And all Israel went over on dry ground, until all the nation had completely gone over the Jordan.

Chapter 4

1  And it came to pass when the whole nation had completely gone over the Jordan, that Jehovah spoke to Joshua, saying, 2  Take you twelve men out of the people, one man out of every tribe, 3  and command them, saying, Take up hence out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging-place where ye shall lodge this night. 4  And Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had appointed of the children of Israel, a man out of every tribe; 5  and Joshua said to them, Pass before the ark of Jehovah your God into the midst of the Jordan, and lift up each of you a stone and put it upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 6  that this may be a sign in your midst. When your children ask hereafter, saying, What mean ye by these stones? 7  then ye shall say to them, That the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; when it went through the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. 8  And the children of Israel did so, as Joshua had commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as Jehovah had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging-place, and laid them down there. 9  And twelve stones did Joshua set up in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant had stood firm; and they are there to this day.

10  And the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan, until everything was finished that Jehovah had commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hasted and passed over. 11  And it came to pass, when all the people had completely gone over, that the ark of Jehovah went over, and the priests, in the presence of the people. 12  And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, went over in array before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. 13  About forty thousand armed for military service passed over before Jehovah to the war, unto the plains of Jericho. 14  On that day Jehovah magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life. 15  And Jehovah spoke to Joshua, saying, 16  Command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of the Jordan. 17  And Joshua commanded the priests, saying, Come up out of the Jordan. 18  And it came to pass when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah had come up out of the midst of the Jordan, when the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up on to the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and they flowed as previously, over all its banks. 19  And the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the eastern …