1. Joshua chose two men as spies and sent them from their camp at Acacia with these instructions: “Go across the river and find out as much as you can about the whole region, especially about the town of Jericho.”The two spies left the Israelite camp at Acacia and went to Jericho, where they decided to spend the night at the house of a prostitute named Rahab.
2. But someone found out about them and told the king of Jericho, “Some Israelite men came here tonight, and they are spies.”
8. Rahab went back up to her roof. The spies were still awake, so she told them:
9. I know that the Lord has given Israel this land. Everyone shakes with fear because of you.
10. We heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea so you could leave Egypt. And we heard how you destroyed Sihon and Og, those two Amorite kings east of the River Jordan.
11. We know that the Lord your God rules heaven and earth, and we've lost our courage and our will to fight.
12. Please promise me in the Lord's name that you will be as kind to my family as I have been to you. Do something to show
13. that you won't let your people kill my father and mother and my brothers and sisters and their families.
14. “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!”