] Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night.

-13] Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. [9] “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. [10] For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. [11] No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below. [12] “Now swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that [13] when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.”

-18] Then, since Rahab’s house was built into the town wall, she let them down by a rope through the window. [16] “Escape to the hill country,” she told them. “Hide there for three days from the men searching for you. Then, when they have returned, you can go on your way.” [17] Before they left, the men told her, “We will be bound by the oath we have taken only if you follow these instructions. [18] When we come into the land, you must leave this scarlet rope hanging from the window through which you let us down. And all your family members—your father, mother, brothers, and all your relatives—must be here inside the house.

] What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?

-26] Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. [26] Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

-25] Meanwhile, Joshua said to the two spies, “Keep your promise. Go to the prostitute’s house and bring her out, along with all her family.” [23] The men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all the other relatives who were with her. They moved her whole family to a safe place near the camp of Israel. [24] Then the Israelites burned the town and everything in it. Only the things made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron were kept for the treasury of the Lord’s house. [25] So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the house, because she had hidden the spies Joshua sent to Jericho. And she lives among the Israelites to this day.

-6] Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse. [6] Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).