Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token:

Now therefore swear ye to me by the Lord, that as I have shewn mercy to you, so you also will shew mercy to my father's house: and give me a true token,

And now, I pray you, swear to me by Jehovah, since I have dealt kindly with you, that ye will also deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a certain sign,

Now therefore, I pray you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have showed you kindness, that ye will also show kindness to my father's house, and give me a true token:

And now, swear ye, I pray you, to me by Jehovah, because I have done with you kindness, that ye have done, even ye, kindness with the house of my father, and have given to me a true token,

So now, will you give me your oath by the Lord, that, because I have been kind to you, you will be kind to my father's house,

Now 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-

Now, therefore, swear to me by the Lord that in the same way that I have acted with mercy toward you, so also shall you act toward the house of my father. And may you give me a true sign

Nunc ergo jurate mihi, quaeso, per Jehovam (feci enim vobiscum misericordiam) quod facietis etiam vos cum domo patris mei misericordiam, et dabitis mihi signum verum,

Now, therefore, I pray you, swear, etc. It is another manifestation of faith that she places the sons of Abraham in sure possession of the land of Canaan, founding on no other argument than her having heard that it was divinely promised to them. For she did not suppose that God was favoring lawless intruders who were forcing their way into the territories of others with unjust violence and uncurbed licentiousness, but rather concluded that they were coming into the land of Canaan, because God had assigned them the dominion of it. It cannot be believed that when they sought a passage from the Edomites and others, they said nothing as to whither they were going. Nay, those nations were acquainted with the promise which was made to Abraham, and the memory of which had been again renewed by the rejection of Esau. Moreover, in the language of Rahab, we behold that characteristic property of faith described by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, when he calls it a vision, or sight of things not appearing. (Hebrews 11:1) Rahab is dwelling with her people in a fortified city: and yet she commits her life to her terrified guests, just as if they had already gained possession of the land, and had full power to save or destroy as they pleased. This voluntary surrender was, in fact, the very same as embracing the promise of God, and casting herself on his protection. She, moreover, exacts an oath, because often, in the storming of cities, the heat and tumult of the struggle shook off the remembrance of duty. In the same way she mentions the kindness she had shown to them, that gratitude might stimulate them the more to perform their promise. For although the obligation of the oath ought of itself to have been effectual, it would have been doubly base and inhumane not to show gratitude to a hostess to whom they owed deliverance. Rahab shows the kindliness of her disposition, in her anxiety about her parents and kindred. This is, indeed, natural; but many are so devoted to themselves, that children hesitate not to ransom their own lives by the death of their parents, instead of exerting courage and zeal to save them.

A true token - literally, "a sign" or "pledge of truth; "something to bind them to keep their promise faithfully. The "token" was the oath which the spies take Joshua 2:14.

Swear unto me by the Lord - This is a farther proof that this woman had received considerable instruction in the Jewish faith; she acknowledged the true God by his essential character Jehovah; and knew that an oath in his name was the deepest and most solemn obligation under which a Jew could possibly come. Does not this also refer to the command of God, Thou shalt fear the Lord, and shalt swear by his name? See the note on Deuteronomy 6:13.

Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord,.... Which being a religious action, and done by men that feared the Lord, she knew it would be binding upon them: the Targum is,"swear to me by the Word of the Lord:"
since I have showed you kindness; by receiving them with peace into her house, and hiding them when inquired for and demanded of her; in doing which she risked her own, life, had this treachery to her country, as it would have been deemed, been discovered;
that you will also show kindness unto my father's house; she mentions not herself and household, for if this was granted that would be implied and included; and this she presses for by the law of retaliation and friendship, for since she had shown kindness to them, it was but reasonable it should be returned:
and give me a true token; that she and her father's house would be saved by them when the city should be taken and the inhabitants destroyed; a token that would not deceive her, on which she might depend, and would be firm and sure.

By the Lord - By your God who is the only true God: so she owns his worship, one eminent act whereof is swearing by his name. My father's house - My near kindred, which she particularly names, Joshua 2:13, husband and children it seems she had none. And for herself, it was needless to speak, it being a plain and undeniable duty to save their preserver. True token - Either an assurance that you will preserve me and mine from the common ruin: or a token which I may produce as a witness of this agreement, and a means of my security. This is all that she asks. But God did for her more than she could ask or think. She was afterwards advanced to be a princess in Israel, the wife of Salmon and one of the ancestors of Christ.