1And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.2.1 sent: or, had sent2.1 lodged: Heb. lay 2And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country. 3And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country. 4And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: 5And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. 6But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. 7And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.
8¶ And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; 9And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.2.9 faint: Heb. melt 10For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 11And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.2.11 did there…: Heb. rose up 12Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token: 13And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. 14And 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.2.14 for…: Heb. instead of you to die 15Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. 16And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way. 17And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. 18Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee.2.18 bring: Heb. gather 19And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. 20And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. 21And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
22And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not.
23¶ So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them: 24And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.2.24 faint: Heb. melt
Rahab skjuler spionerne
1Fra israelitternes lejr ved Shittim på Moabs sletter havde Josva i al hemmelighed sendt to spioner af sted over floden for at undersøge landet, især Jeriko. De tog af sted og kom til et hus i Jeriko, hvor der boede en kvinde ved navn Rahab, som var prostitueret. Der fik de lov til at overnatte.
2Men da Jerikos konge fik at vide, at der var kommet nogle israelitter til byen den aften for at udspionere landet, 3sendte han straks nogle af sine folk til Rahabs hus: „Udlever de mænd, som er i dit hus,” beordrede de. „De er spioner.”
4Rahab havde allerede skjult mændene, så hun svarede: „Der kom ganske rigtig to mænd til mit hus, men jeg vidste ikke, hvor de kom fra. 5De er her ikke længere, for de forlod byen inden solnedgang, da byporten skulle lukkes. Jeg ved ikke, hvor de tog hen, men hvis I skynder jer, kan I sikkert nå at indhente dem.” 6Rahab havde ført mændene op på det flade tag og gemt dem under noget hør, hun havde liggende til tørre deroppe.
7Kongens mænd skyndte sig af sted i retning af Jordanflodens vadesteder, og byporten blev lukket forsvarligt, så snart de var taget af sted.
8Imens gik Rahab op på taget for at tale med mændene, inden de lagde sig til at sove. 9„Jeg ved, at Herren har givet jer vores land,” sagde hun. „Vi er alle sammen frygtelig bange for jer. 10Vi har jo hørt, hvordan Herren åbnede en vej for jer gennem Det Røde Hav, dengang I forlod Egypten. Vi ved også, hvordan det gik amoritterkongerne Sihon og Og på den anden side af Jordanfloden, da I ødelagde deres land og udryddede befolkningen. 11Så det er ikke underligt, at vi har tabt modet. Ingen tør kæmpe imod jer, når de ved, at Herren, jeres Gud, er den øverste Gud i Himlen og på jorden. 12-13Derfor vil jeg bede jer om én ting: Sværg ved jeres Guds hellige navn, at I vil hjælpe mig og min familie, ligesom jeg nu hjælper jer. Giv mig et sikkert tegn på, at I vil skåne mig og min mor og far, mine brødre og søstre og deres familier, så vi ikke skal dø, når I erobrer Jeriko.”
14„Liv for liv!” svor mændene. „Hvis du ikke forråder os, vil vi sørge for, at du og din familie bliver skånet, når Herren giver os sejr over jeres land.”
15Rahabs hus var bygget i ét med bymuren og havde et vindue, der vendte udad. Hun tog nu et reb og gjorde klar til at fire dem ned på ydersiden af bymuren. 16„Gå væk fra floden og op i bjergene,” sagde hun til dem, „og gem jer der i tre dage, indtil jeres forfølgere giver op og kommer tilbage til byen. Så kan I roligt vende hjem.”
17-18Inden spionerne forsvandt, sagde de: „Den ed, du har fået os til at sværge, gælder kun, hvis du binder den her røde snor fast i vinduet, og hvis I alle holder jer inden døre. 19Hvis nogen forlader huset her, er det deres egen skyld, hvis de mister livet. Men vi står inde for, at der ikke vil ske noget med dem, der bliver i huset. 20Hvis du forråder os, er vi løst fra vores løfte.”
21„Det er i orden,” svarede hun. Derpå firede hun dem ned, og de forsvandt i mørket, mens hun bandt den røde snor fast i vinduet.
22Spionerne flygtede nu op i bjergene, hvor de blev i tre dage, mens deres forfølgere søgte efter dem overalt og siden vendte tilbage til byen med uforrettet sag. 23Derefter gik de ned fra bjergene, vadede over Jordanfloden og fortalte Josva, hvordan det var gået. 24„Herren har givet os hele landet,” sagde de. „Befolkningen er så bange for os, at de ryster af skræk.”
