Joshua 2:14
in Joshua 2“Our lives for your lives!” the men agreed. “If you do not report our mission, we will show you kindness and faithfulness when the LORD gives us the land.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the men said unto her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business; and it shall be, when Jehovah giveth us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.
KJV
And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the Lord hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.
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This verse in Joshua 2
Commentary
2 notes on this verseOur life for yours - “May our life be destroyed if we suffer yours to be injured!” This is what was anciently called in our country pledging - staking, a man’s life for that of his neighbor or friend.
This site's exposition
give me a true token
on Joshua 2:12-14
She asks them to swear by the Lord, using the covenant name rather than a Canaanite one, and Adam Clarke reads that as the measure of what she had already learned. The word rendered kindness is the covenant word for loyal love, and she asks it back in the terms she gave it, kindness for kindness. Her list runs father, mother, brethren and sisters, with no husband and no children in it, and every person she bargains for is somebody else. The men stake their own lives on the bargain and attach a condition to it, which verses 17 to 20 then spell out.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Then she lowered them down with the rope. With the same rope and through the same window her admirers would use to come up to her. She said: “Master of the World with these I have sinned, with these forgive me.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
22 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֧אמְרוּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָ֣הּ | lah | to <the> her | ||
| הָאֲנָשִׁ֗ים | haanashim | the men | H582 → | 566 times |
| נַפְשֵׁ֤נוּ | nafshenu | life our | H5315 → | 754 times |
| תַחְתֵּיכֶם֙ | tachteikhem | for you | H8478 → | 505 times |
| לָמ֔וּת | lamut | to die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| אִ֚ם | ʾim | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַגִּ֔ידוּ | tagidu | you will tell | H5046 → | 370 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דְּבָרֵ֖נוּ | devarenu | business our | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| זֶ֑ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וְהָיָ֗ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְּתֵת־ | betet- | when gives | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לָ֙נוּ֙ | lanu | to <the> us | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָ֔רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְעָשִׂ֥ינוּ | veasinu | and we will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| עִמָּ֖ךְ | ʾimakh | with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| חֶ֥סֶד | chesed | loyalty | H2617 → | 247 times |
| וֶאֱמֶֽת׃ | veemet | and faithfulness | H571 → | 127 times |
וַיֹּ֧אמְרוּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
לָ֣הּto <the> her
lah
הָאֲנָשִׁ֗יםthe men
haanashimH582 →566 times
נַפְשֵׁ֤נוּlife our
nafshenuH5315 →754 times
תַחְתֵּיכֶם֙for you
tachteikhemH8478 →505 times
לָמ֔וּתto die
lamutH4191 →839 times
אִ֚םif
ʾimH518 →1069 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תַגִּ֔ידוּyou will tell
tagiduH5046 →370 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
דְּבָרֵ֖נוּbusiness our
devarenuH1697 →1440 times
זֶ֑הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
וְהָיָ֗הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
בְּתֵת־when gives
betet-H5414 →2011 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לָ֙נוּ֙to <the> us
lanu
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָ֔רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וְעָשִׂ֥ינוּand we will do
veasinuH6213 →2628 times
עִמָּ֖ךְwith you
ʾimakhH5973 →1050 times
חֶ֥סֶדloyalty
chesedH2617 →247 times
וֶאֱמֶֽת׃and faithfulness
veemetH571 →127 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 5:7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
it leads to
- Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.
- Matthew 6:14–15
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
- 2 Samuel 22:26
To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
- Matthew 18:33–35
Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?’
- Psalms 18:25
To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
- Ephesians 4:32
Through
Proverbs 18:24A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.
it leads to
- Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
- John 15:13–15
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
- Proverbs 27:9
Oil and incense bring joy to the heart, and the sweetness of a friend is counsel to the soul.
- Proverbs 17:17
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.