The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 Then Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two men from Shittim secretly, with the purpose of searching out the land, and Jericho. So they went and came to the house of a loose woman of the town, named Rahab, where they took their rest for the night.
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 And it was said to the king of Jericho, See, some men have come here tonight from the children of Israel with the purpose of searching out the land.
2
The king of Jericho heard that some Israelites had come that night to spy out the country,
3 Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, Send out the men who have come to you and are in your house; for they have come with the purpose of searching out all the land.
3
so he sent word to Rahab: "The men in your house have come to spy out the whole country! Bring them out!"
4 And the woman took the two men and put them in a secret place; then she said, Yes, the men came to me, but I had no idea where they came from;
4
"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.)
5 And when it was the time for shutting the doors at dark, they went out; I have no idea where the men went: but if you go after them quickly, you will overtake them.
6 But she had taken them up to the roof, covering them with the stems of flax which she had put out in order there.
7 So the men went after them on the road to Jordan as far as the river-crossing: and when they had gone out after them, the door into the town was shut.
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 And before the men went to rest, she came up to them on the roof,
8
Before the spies settled down for the night, Rahab went up on the roof
9 And said to them, It is clear to me that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has come on us;
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and said to them, "I know that the Lord has given you this land. Everyone in the country is terrified of you.
10 For we have had news of how the Lord made the Red Sea dry before you when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, on the other side of Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you gave up to the curse.
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 And because of this news, our hearts became like water, and there was no more spirit in any of us because of you; for the Lord your God is God in heaven on high and here on earth.
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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 So now, will you give me your oath by the Lord, that, because I have been kind to you, you will be kind to my father's house,
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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 And that you will keep safe my father and mother and my brothers and sisters and all they have, so that death may not come on us?
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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 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.
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 Then she let them down from the window by a cord, for the house where she was living was on the town wall.
15
Rahab lived in a house built into the city wall, so she let the men down from the window by a rope.
16 And she said to them, Get away into the hill-country, or the men who have gone after you will overtake you; keep yourselves safe there for three days, till the searchers have come back, and then go on your way.
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 And the men said to her, We will only be responsible for this oath which you have made us take,
17
The men said to her, "We will keep the promise that you have made us give.
18 If, when we come into the land, you put this cord of bright red thread in the window from which you let us down; and get your father and mother and your brothers and all your family into the house;
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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 Then if anyone goes out of your house into the street, his blood will be on his head, we will not be responsible; but if any damage comes to anyone in the house, his blood will be on our heads.
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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 But if you say anything about our business here, then we will be free from the oath you have made us take.
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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 And she said, Let it be as you say. Then she sent them away, and they went; and she put the bright red cord in the window.
21
She agreed and sent them away. When they had gone, she tied the red cord to the window.
22 And they went into the hill-country and were there three days, till the men who had gone after them had come back; and those who went after them were searching for them everywhere without coming across them.
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 men came down from the hill-country and went over and came back to Joshua, the son of Nun; and they gave him a complete account of what had taken place.
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 they said to Joshua, Truly, the Lord has given all the land into our hands; and all the people of the land have become like water because of us.
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and then said, "We are sure that the Lord has given us the whole country. All the people there are terrified of us."
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.