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Joshua 2

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1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men from Shittim to spy silently, saying, Go, see the land and Jericho. And they went and came·​·into the house of a woman, a harlot, and her name was Raḥab, and they lay there.

2 And it was said to the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, men came·​·in hither this night from the sons of Israel to spy·​·out the land.

3 And the king of Jericho sent to Raḥab, saying, Bring·​·forth the men who came to thee, who have come into thy house, for to spy·​·out all the land they have come.

4 And the woman took the two men and she kept· it ·secret, and said, It is so, the men came to me, but I knew not whence they were.

5 And it was, when the gate was to be closed in the darkness, that the men went·​·out; I know not whither the men went; pursue after them in·​·haste, for you shall overtake them.

6 But she had brought· them ·up on the roof, and had concealed them with stalks of flax* arranged by her upon the roof.

7 And the men pursued after them the way of the Jordan over the fords; and they shut the gates when they who pursued after them had gone·​·out.

8 And they were scarcely laid·​·down and she went·​·up to them on the roof;

9 and she said to the men, I know that Jehovah has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen upon us, and that all those who dwell in the land are dissolved before you.

10 For we have heard how Jehovah dried·​·up the waters of the Suph sea from before you, when you came·​·out from Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were across the Jordan, to Siḥon and to Og whom you doomed.

11 And we heard, and our hearts did melt and the spirit arose no more in any man before you; for Jehovah your God, He is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.

12 And now, I pray you, promise to me by Jehovah, for I have done mercy with you, that you also will do mercy with the house of my father and give me a sign of truth.

13 And that you will let· my father and my mother ·live, and my brothers, and my sisters and all that they have, and will rescue our souls from death.

14 And the men said to her, Be our souls unto death instead of yours, if you tell not this our matter; and it shall be, when Jehovah gives us the land, that we will do mercy and truth with thee.

15 And she let· them ·down by a cord through the window; for her house was on the side of the city wall, and she dwelt on the city wall.

16 And she said to them, Go ye toward the mountain, lest the pursuers fall·​·upon you; and hide·​·away there three days until the pursuers be returned; and after this you may Go on your way.

17 And the men said to her, We will be innocent of this thy promise which thou hast made us promise;

18 behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt tie this line* of scarlet* twice-dyed thread in the window by which thou didst let· us ·down, and thy father and thy mother, and thy brothers, and all the house of thy father, thou shalt gather to thee to the house.

19 And it shall be that anyone who goes·​·out from the doors of thy house to the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be innocent; and anyone who shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if a hand shall be on him.

20 But if thou shalt tell this our matter, then we shall be innocent of thy promise, which thou hast made us promise.

21 And she said, According·​·to your words, so be it, and she sent· them ·away, and they went, and she tied the line* of scarlet twice-dyed in the window.

22 And they went and came toward the mountain, and sat there three days until the pursuers had returned; and the pursuers sought them in all the way, and found them not.

23 And the two men returned, and came·​·down from the mountain and crossed·​·over and came to Joshua the son of Nun; and recounted to him all that befell* them;

24 and they said to Joshua, Surely Jehovah has given into our hand all the land; and also all who dwell in the land have dissolved before us.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Back (as in go back)

  
Photo of notes in a jar, by Jenny Stein

The meaning of “back” is more literal when it is connected to objects. When someone takes something back or gives something back, the spiritual meaning is mostly centered on the object in question and the people performing the action.There are many instances in the Bible which describe people turning back, looking back or going back. In most cases it is a negative, sometimes devastatingly so (as with Lot’s wife, turned to a pillar of salt when she looked back at the destructrion of Sodom). In general this represents our state when we are advancing to a new spiritual level and find ourselves wishing for the comfort and ease of the old one – going back represents a return to an earlier, inferior stage.