ught them up to the roof, and hid them with the stalks
of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. And the men
pursued after them along the way to Jordan to the fords: and as soon
as those who pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate. And
before they were laid down, she came up to them upon the roof; and she
said to the men, "I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and
that the fear of you is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants
of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried
up the water of the Red Sea before you, when ye came out of Egypt; and
what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond
Jordan, unto Sihon and to Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon
as we had heard it, our hearts melted, neither did there remain any
more spirit in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is
God in heaven above, and on earth beneath. Now {282} therefore, I pray
you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you,
that ye also will deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a
true token: and that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and
my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and will deliver
our lives from death."

And the men said to her, "Our life for yours, if ye speak not of this
our business; and it shall be, when the Lord giveth us the land, that
we will deal kindly and truly with thee."

Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was
upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. And she said to them,
"Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers find you; and hide
yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned: and
afterward may ye go your way."

And the men said unto her, "We will be guiltless of this thine oath
which thou hast made us to swear, unless, when we come into the land,
thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou
didst let us down by: and thou shalt gather into the house thy father,
and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household. And
it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house
into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be
guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood
shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. But if thou speak of
this our business, then we will be guiltless or thine oath which thou
hast made us to swear."

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