Josua ma hindi ozohoze ze kahite mOjeriko
1 Josua wa hinda ozohoze mbari mongumumu okuza mozondanda za Sitim, nomarakiza nga: “Twendeye mu kahore ehi nu tjinene ihi otjihuro Jeriko”. Owo arire tji va i nave ya kondjuwo yomukorondu wena Rahab nave rara mo. 2 Nombara ya Jeriko ya zuva ombuze, ndji mai tja: “Ovaisrael tjiva ve ya mba ouṱuku okuhora ehi.” 3 Ombara ya hinda ombuze ku Rahab ai tja: “Pitisa ovarumendu mbe ya kove nu mba rara moyoye; orondu owo ve ya okuhora ehi arihe!”
4 Nungwari omukazendu wa horeka ovarumendu mba vevari, neye otja zira a tja: “Pe ere ovarumendu tjiva pondjuwo yandje, nungwari hi tjivirwe kutja va za pi. 5 Owo va i komuihi, omuvero wotjihuro tji wa ri pokupatwa. Ami hi mwine kutja va i pi; ve tezeye tjimanga, nu mamu ve vaza.” 6 Nu Rahab wa rondisa ozohoze mbari nḓa komututu ne ze horeke momiti vyotusepa mbya tendekwa komututu. 7 Novandu vombara tji va za motjihuro, omuvero otji wa patwa. Owo va kapaha ozohoze zOvaisrael nga pomakondero wonḓonḓu Jordan.
8 Ozohoze nḓa mbari ngunda aze hiya rara, Rahab wa ronda komututu 9 na tja ku zo: “Ami me tjiwa kutja Muhona we mu pe ehi ndi, neṱe atuhe matu mu tira, nu avehe, mba tura mehi ndi, va urumisiwa i omeero weṋu. 10 Eṱe twa zuva kutja Muhona wa kahisa Omuronga wOtuu momurungu weṋu, tji mwa pita mOengipte. Wina twa zuva kutja mwa zepa ozombara mbari zOvaamori, ooSihon na Og komukuma wokomuhuka wa Jordan. 11 Eṱe tji twa za nokuzuva otjiṋa hi twa tira. Auhe otje rihahiza okumusekamena, orondu Muhona, Ndjambi weṋu, eye onguri Ndjambi meyuru na kombanda yehi. 12 Nambano yaneye ku Muhona kutja mamu yenenisa omakwizikiro weṋu namu rikendere ovazamumwe vandje otja ami tji mbe rikendere eṋe, nu ndji raisireye ouatjiri weṋu. 13 Ndji kwizikireye kutja mamu yama tate na mama, nomarumbi novangu novaṱena kwandje, novazamumwe vawo avehe; amu tu tarere amatu ṱu!”
14 Ovarumendu mba va tja ku ye: “Eṱe twe rirongerere okuṱira ove! Ove tji u hi nokuhorora imbi mbi matu tjiti, tjiri, matu yenenisa omakwizikiro wetu kove, Muhona tje tu pe ehi ndi.”
15 Rahab wa turire mondjuwo ndja tungirwe morumbo rwotjihuro; neye otja raurira ovarumendu mba moruiho nongoze. 16 Eye we ve raera a tja: “Twendeye kozondundu, ovandu vombara tjapo ngaave mu munu. Kaṱareye ngo oure womayuva yetatu, ngaa tji va kotoka. Kombunda yanao mu yende ku mamu i.”
17 Novarumendu va zira nai ku ye: “Eṱe matu yenenisa omakwizikiro nga ngu we tu yanisa. 18 Nungwari puratena nawa! Eṱe tji matu hiti mehi ndi, kuta ongoze oserandu koruiho mu we tu pitisire. Woronganisira iho na nyoko nomarumbi novangu voye neṱunḓu raiho arihe mondjuwo yoye. 19 Nu auhe ngu ma piti mondjuwo na ṱu, indino ma rire ondjo ye omuini, neṱe katu nokukara nomerizirira na ye; nu auhe ngu ri mondjuwo puna ove tja hihamisiwa i eṱe, ma rire ondjo yetu. 20 Nungwari tji wa horora imbi mbi matu tjiti, kamaatu yenenisa omakwizikiro wetu.” 21 Omukazendu wa zira a tja: “Otja pu mwa hee, osemba!” Neye arire tje ve esa ve yende. Nowo tji va ya, eye wa kuta ongoze oserandu koruiho.
22 Nozohoze mbari nḓa za ya kozondundu naze kaṱara, imba ovandu vombara ngunda amave ze paha mehi arihe oure womayuva yetatu. Nowo kave ze mwine, notji va yaruka kOjeriko. 23 Nungwari ozo za heruka kozondundu aze kondo onḓonḓu naze yaruka ku Josua, naze ke mu raera oviṋa mbya tjitwa. 24 Nozo za tja ku ye: “Tjiri, Muhona wa yandja ehi arihe mouvara wetu. Ovandu avehe mbo va mumaparisiwa i eṱe.”
Rahab Helps the Israelite Spies
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.” 3-7 So the king sent soldiers to Rahab's house to arrest the spies.
Meanwhile, Rahab had taken the men up to the flat roof of her house and had hidden them under some piles of flax plants that she had put there to dry.
The soldiers came to her door and demanded, “Let us have the men who are staying at your house. They are spies.”
She answered, “Some men did come to my house, but I didn't know where they had come from. They left about sunset, just before it was time to close the town gate. I don't know where they were going, but if you hurry, maybe you can catch them.”
The guards at the town gate let the soldiers leave Jericho, but they closed the gate again as soon as the soldiers went through. Then the soldiers headed toward the Jordan River to look for the spies at the place where people cross the river.
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 Jordan River. 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!”
15 Rahab's house was built into the town wall, and one of the windows in her house faced outside the wall. She gave the spies a rope, showed them the window, and said, “Use this rope to let yourselves down to the ground outside the wall. 16 Then hide in the hills. The men who are looking for you won't be able to find you there. They'll give up and come back after a few days, and you can be on your way.”
17-20 The spies said:
You made us promise to let you and your family live. We will keep our promise, but you can't tell anyone why we were here. You must tie this red rope on your window when we attack, and your father and mother, your brothers, and everyone else in your family must be here with you. We'll take the blame if anyone who stays in this house gets hurt. But anyone who leaves your house will be killed, and it won't be our fault.
21 “I'll do exactly what you said,” Rahab promised. Then she sent them on their way and tied the red rope to the window.
22 The spies hid in the hills for three days while the king's soldiers looked for them along the roads. As soon as the soldiers gave up and returned to Jericho, 23 the two spies went down into the Jordan valley and crossed the river. They reported to Joshua and told him everything that had happened. 24 “We're sure the Lord has given us the whole country,” they said. “The people there shake with fear every time they think of us.”
