The Message Bible MSG
King James Version KJV
1 Joshua son of Nun secretly sent out from Shittim two men as spies: "Go. Look over the land. Check out Jericho." They left and arrived at the house of a harlot named Rahab and stayed there.
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And 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 The king of Jericho was told, "We've just learned that men arrived tonight to spy out the land. They're from the People of Israel."
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And 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.
3 The king of Jericho sent word to Rahab: "Bring out the men who came to you to stay the night in your house. They're spies; they've come to spy out the whole country."
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And 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.
4 The woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, "Yes, two men did come to me, but I didn't know where they'd come from.
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And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:
5 At dark, when the gate was about to be shut, the men left. But I have no idea where they went. Hurry up! Chase them - you can still catch them!"
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And 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.
6 (She had actually taken them up on the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax that were spread out for her on the roof.)
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But 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.
7 So the men set chase down the Jordan road toward the fords. As soon as they were gone, the gate was shut.
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And 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 Before the spies were down for the night, the woman came up to them on the roof
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And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;
9 and said, "I know that God has given you the land. We're all afraid. Everyone in the country feels hopeless.
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And 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.
10 We heard how God dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt, and what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you put under a holy curse and destroyed.
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For 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.
11 We heard it and our hearts sank. We all had the wind knocked out of us. And all because of you, you and God, your God, God of the heavens above and God of the earth below.
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And 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.
12 "Now promise me by God. I showed you mercy; now show my family mercy. And give me some tangible proof, a guarantee
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Now 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:
13 of life for my father and mother, my brothers and sisters - everyone connected with my family. Save our souls from death!"
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And 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.
14 "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."
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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.
15 She lowered them down out a window with a rope because her house was on the city wall to the outside.
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Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.
16 She told them, "Run for the hills so your pursuers won't find you. Hide out for three days and give your pursuers time to return. Then get on your way."
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And 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.
17 The men told her, "In order to keep this oath you made us swear,
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And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear.
18 here is what you must do: Hang this red rope out the window through which you let us down and gather your entire family with you in your house - father, mother, brothers, and sisters.
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Behold, 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.
19 Anyone who goes out the doors of your house into the street and is killed, it's his own fault - we aren't responsible. But for everyone within the house we take full responsibility. If anyone lays a hand on one of them, it's our fault.
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And 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.
20 But if you tell anyone of our business here, the oath you made us swear is canceled - we're no longer responsible."
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And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.
21 She said, "If that's what you say, that's the way it is," and sent them off. They left and she hung the red rope out the window.
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And 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.
22 They headed for the hills and stayed there for three days until the pursuers had returned. The pursuers had looked high and low but found nothing.
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And 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 The men headed back. They came down out of the hills, crossed the river, and returned to Joshua son of Nun and reported all their experiences.
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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:
24 They told Joshua, "Yes! God has given the whole country to us. Everybody there is in a state of panic because of us."
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And 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.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The King James Version is in the public domain.