JOS 2:1 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=important (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Then from there at Acacia Grove, Yehoshua (Nun’s son) secretly sent off two spies, saying, “Go and learn about the land over there, especially around Yericho City.” So they went off, and over there, they entered the house of a woman—a prostitute named Rahab—and they lay down there.[ref]

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Ἰησοῦς υἱὸς Ναυῆ ἐκ Σαττὶν δύο νεανίσκους κατασκοπεῦσαι, λέγων, ἀνάβητε καὶ ἴδετε τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν Ἱεριχώ· καὶ πορευθέντες οἱ δύο νεανίσκοι εἰσήλθοσαν εἰς Ἱεριχώ· καὶ εἰσήλθοσαν εἰς οἰκίαν γυναικὸς πόρνης, ᾗ ὄνομα Ῥαάβ· Καὶ κατέλυσαν ἐκεῖ.
(Kai apesteilen Yaʸsous huios Nauaʸ ek Sattin duo neaniskous kataskopeusai, legōn, anabaʸte kai idete taʸn gaʸn kai taʸn Hieriⱪō; kai poreuthentes hoi duo neaniskoi eisaʸlthosan eis Hieriⱪō; kai eisaʸlthosan eis oikian gunaikos pornaʸs, haʸ onoma Ɽaʼab; Kai katelusan ekei. )

BrTr And Joshua the son of Naue sent out of Sattin two young men to spy the land, saying, Go up and view the land and Jericho: and the two young men went and entered into Jericho; and they entered into the house of a harlot, whose name was Raab, and lodged there.

ULT And Joshua, the son of Nun, secretly sent from Shittim two men, spies, saying, “Go, see the land and Jericho.” And they went and entered the house of a woman, a prostitute, and her name was Rahab, and they stayed there.

UST Then Joshua son of Nun chose two men from their camp at Shittim. He told them, “Go secretly and find out all that you can about the land, especially about the city of Jericho.” They left the camp and went to Jericho. A prostitute whose name was Rahab lived in that city. They stayed in her house that night.

OEB From Shittim Joshua son of Nun sent two men secretly as spies to explore the country and especially Jericho. When they arrived they went into the house of a prostitute called Rahab and stayed there.

WEBBE Joshua the son of Nun secretly sent two men out of Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, including Jericho.” They went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and slept there.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Joshua son of Nun sent two spies out from Shittim secretly and instructed them: “Find out what you can about the land, especially Jericho.” They stopped at the house of a prostitute named Rahab and spent the night there.

LSV And Joshua son of Nun silently sends two men, spies, from Shittim, saying, “Go, see the land—and Jericho”; and they go and come into the house of a woman, a harlot, and her name [is] Rahab, and they lie down there.

FBV Then Joshua, son of Nun, secretly sent out two spies from Shittim.[fn] “Go and explore[fn] the land, especially around Jericho,” he told them. So they went, and stayed at the house of woman named Rahab, a prostitute. There they spent the night.

2:1 The place where the Israelites were camped at the time.

2:1 Literally, “go about on foot.”

T4T Then Joshua chose two men from their camp at Acacia. He told them, “Go across the Jordan River and secretly find out all that you can about the land on that side of the river, especially about Jericho city.” So the two men crossed the river and entered Jericho. They entered the house of a prostitute, whose name was Rahab. They stayed in her house that night.

LEB Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men from Acacia Grove[fn] as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and _⌊spent the night_⌋[fn] there.

2:1 Hebrew “Shittim”

2:1 Literally “lay down”

BBE 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.

Moff From Shittim Joshua sent two men secretly as spies to explore the country and specially Jericho. When they arrived they went into the house of a harlot called Rahab and stayed there.

JPS And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two spies secretly, saying: 'Go view the land, and Jericho.' And they went, and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lay there.

ASV And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men as spies secretly, saying, Go, view the land, and Jericho. And they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lay there.

DRA And Josue the son of Nun sent from Setim two men, to spy secretly: and said to them: Go, and view the land and the city of Jericho. They went and entered into the house of a woman that was a harlot named Rahab, and lodged with her.

YLT And Joshua son of Nun sendeth from Shittim, two men, spies, silently, saying, 'Go, see the land — and Jericho;' and they go and come into the house of a woman, a harlot, and her name [is] Rahab, and they lie down there.

Drby And Joshua the son of Nun sent from Shittim two spies secretly, saying, Go, see the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into a harlot's house, named Rahab, and they lay down there.

RV And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men as spies secretly, saying, Go view the land, and Jericho. And they went, and came into the house of an harlot whose name was Rahab, and lay there.

SLT And Joshua son of Nun will send out of Shittim two men spying silently, saying, Go see the land and Jericho. And they will go, and will come to the house of a woman, a harlot, and her name Rahab; and they will lie there.

Wbstr And Joshua the son of Nun sent from Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go, view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into the house of a harlot, named Rahab, and lodged there.

KJB-1769 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.[fn][fn]

2.1 sent: or, had sent

2.1 lodged: Heb. lay

KJB-1611 ¶ And Ioshua the sonne of Nun sent out of Shittim two men, to spie secretly, saying, Go, view the land, euen Iericho: and they went, and came into an harlots house, named Rahab, and [fn]lodged there.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation and footnotes)

2:1 Heb. lay.

Bshps And Iosuah ye sonne of Nun sent out of Sittim two men to spye secretely, saying: Go, and viewe the land, and also Iericho. And they went, and came into a harlotes house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
(And Yoshua ye/you_all son of Nun sent out of Sittim two men to spye secretly, saying: Go, and viewe the land, and also Yericho. And they went, and came into a harlotes house, named Rahab, and lodged there.)

Gnva Then Ioshua the sonne of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spie secretly, saying, Go, view the land, and also Iericho: and they went, and came into an harlots house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
(Then Yoshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go, view the land, and also Yericho: and they went, and came into an harlots house, named Rahab, and lodged there. )

Cvdl Iosua the sonne of Nun sent out two spyes preuely from Setim, and sayde vnto them: Go youre waye, loke vpon the londe and Iericho. They wente forth, and came in to ye house of an harlot, called Rahab, and laye there.
(Yoshua the son of Nun sent out two spies privily/secretly from Setim, and said unto them: Go your(pl) way, look upon the land and Yericho. They went forth, and came in to ye/you_all house of an harlot, called Rahab, and lay there.)

Wycl Therfor Josue, the sone of Nun, sente fro Sethym twei men, aspieris in hiddlis, and seide to hem, Go ye, and biholde ye the lond, and the citee of Jerico. Whiche yeden, and entriden into the hous of a womman hoore, `Raab bi name, and restiden at hir.
(Therefore Yosue, the son of Nun, sent from Sethym twain/two_or_both men, aspieris in hiddlis, and said to hem, Go ye/you_all, and behold ye/you_all the land, and the city of Yerico. Which walked/went, and entered into the house of a woman whore, Raab by name, and restedn at her.)

Luth Josua aber, der Sohn Nuns, hatte zween Kundschafter heimlich ausgesandt von Sittim und ihnen gesagt: Gehet hin, besehet das Land und Jericho. Die gingen hin und kamen in das Haus einer Hure, die hieß Rahab, und kehreten zu ihr ein.
(Yosua but, the/of_the son Nuns, had two Kundschafter secretly sent from Sittim and to_them said: Go there/therefore, consists the country and Yericho. The went there/therefore and came in the house one/a whore(n), the was_called Rahab, and returned to/for you(pl)/their/her in.)

ClVg Misit igitur Josue filius Nun de Setim duos viros exploratores in abscondito: et dixit eis: Ite, et considerate terram, urbemque Jericho. Qui pergentes ingressi sunt domum mulieris meretricis, nomine Rahab, et quieverunt apud eam.[fn]
(He_sent therefore Yosue son Nun from/about Setim two men exploratores in/into/on secretly: and he/she_said to_them: Ite, and considerse the_earth/land, cityque Yericho. Who pergentes having_entered are house/home woman's prostitute, by_name Rahab, and quieverunt at her. )

2.1 Misit ergo, etc. BEDA in Josue. Jericho civitas mundus est, ad quem Dominus Christus ad perscrutandos mores hominum duo Testamenta direxit. Nam in eo ut credentium fidem aut rebellium pervicaciam plenius comprobaret, ante adventum judicii sui, quasi exploratores duos, Legem et Evangelium destinavit. ADAM., hom. 3. Mittuntur a Jesu exploratores in Jericho, etc., usque ad si in misericordia Domini sui intellexerit bonitatem.

2.1 He_sent therefore, etc. BEDFrom in/into/on Yosue. Yericho city world it_is, to which Master Christ/Messiah to perscrutandos mores of_men two Testamenta directed. For/Surely in/into/on by_him as believers faith or rebellium pervicaciam more_fully comwould_prove, before arrival judgement self, as_if exploratores two, Legem and the_Gospel destinavit. ADAM., man. 3. Mittuntur from Yesu exploratores in/into/on Yericho, etc., until to when/but_if in/into/on mercy Master self understood goodness.

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:1–24 Joshua sent men to explore Jericho secretly

Joshua sent two men to look at Jericho, a town in the land of Canaan. A woman of Jericho called Rahab hid the two men so that the king’s soldiers could not find them. She did this because she believed that Yahweh would help the Israelites conquer their land. The men promised Rahab that if she did not betray them, they would rescue her and her family when the Israelites conquered the town. Rahab helped the men escape from Jericho and they hid in the hills for three days. When the soldiers of Jericho stopped looking for them, they returned to Joshua.

Here are some other possible section headings:

The spies went to Jericho

The spies and Rahab

Rahab helped the spies

Paragraph: 2:1–7

Joshua sent two spies to Jericho and they entered the house of Rahab. The king of Jericho sent soldiers to arrest them, but Rahab protected the two men. She hid the spies and told the soldiers that they had already left.

2:1a

Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying,

¶ Then Joshua son of Nun sent two men from Shittim where the Israelites were staying to go and explore the land secretly. He said to them:
¶ The Israelites were staying at Shittim Campground. Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two men from there to go in secret and learn about the land. He told them:

Then: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as Then introduces the next event in the narrative. This is the start of a new section, and some English versions start this section with the word “then.” Translate this in a way that is natural to introduce a new section in your language.

Joshua son of Nun: You should translate this the same way you did in 1:1b.

secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying: In some languages, a literal translation would suggest that Joshua spoke to the two men after he sent them away. If this is true in your language, you need to make it clear that Joshua gave the orders to the men before they left.

Here is another way to translate this sentence:

Joshua sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies. Before he sent them, he said

secretly: The term secretly means that the two men explored the land secretly. They did not want the Canaanites to know where they came from or what they were doing.

two spies: These two men were Israelites.

spies: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as spies comes from a verb that means “go as an explorer” or “go as a spy.”

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

to explore secretly

to learn about the land of Canaan

to see where the land is weak

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Then Joshua, the son of Nun, chose two men from the camp at Shittim to go in secret and explore the land. Before he sent them, he said,

The Israelites were staying at Shittim Campground. Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two men from there to go secretly and learn about the land. He told them,

from Shittim: Shittim was the place where the Israelites set up their tents on the east side of the Jordan River. This place is referred to in Numbers 25:1. It was northeast of the Dead Sea, opposite Jericho.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

while the Israelites were camping at Shittim

The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as Shittim means “acacia.” It is possible that there were several acacia trees in this area.2:1 Dallaire, p. 864. Some English versions use the name “Acacia” instead of the name Shittim. If you are familiar with acacia trees, you may choose to use that term instead of Shittim.

Shittim was the name of this area, but it was not a town or a village. If you must identify it you could call it “Shittim campground” or “Shittim region.”

Here are some other ways to translate this Hebrew word:

Acacia Grove (NLT)

Shittim campground/region

Acacia campground/region

2:1b

“Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.”

“Go^(dual) and look at the land and especially the city of Jericho.”
“Go to the land of Canaan and learn about it. Look particularly at Jericho.”

Go, inspect the land: The clause Go, inspect the land indicates that the men must go to the land of Canaan and gather information about how to conquer it.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

Go through the land and find out about it

especially Jericho: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as especially Jericho is more literally “and Jericho.” Jericho was a town in Canaan that was across the river from the Israelite camp. It was the most important town in that region. There were many towns in Canaan. Joshua told the men to find out especially about this town because they would attack it first.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Go through the land and find out about it, especially the town of Jericho.

Go and look around the land, particularly Jericho.

2:1c

So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.

Then they^(dual) left the camp at Shittim. When they arrived at the city of Jericho, they entered the house of a prostitute to stay there. Her name was Rahab.
So, the men went to Jericho. They stayed for the night at the house of a prostitute named Rahab.

Then: The Hebrew conjunction that the BSB translates as Then introduces the next event in time.

Here is another way to translate this conjunction:

and

Translate this conjunction in a way that is natural to introduce the next event in the narrative.

they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab: Rahab’s house was in Jericho. It may be clearer to make explicit that they arrived in Jericho.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

They went to Jericho and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab

a prostitute named Rahab: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates literally as prostitute refers to someone who has sex with other people for money.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

a prostitute. Her name was Rahab.

and stayed there: The Hebrew verb that the BSB translates as stayed there means “to lie down (to sleep).” The men intended to spend the night there, but they had to flee, and they left during the night.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

they intended to stay there that night

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Then the men went to the town of Jericho. They entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab. They planned to spend the night there.

So the men arrived at Jericho, and stayed at the house of a prostitute named Rahab

Parallel JOS 2:1

Section 2:1–24 Joshua sent men to explore Jericho secretly

Paragraph: 2:1–7

2:1a

2:1b

2:1c