1Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite.2‘Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?’ they asked. ‘Hasn’t he also spoken through us?’ And the Lord heard this.3(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)4At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, ‘Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you.’ So the three of them went out.5Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward,6he said, ‘Listen to my words: ‘When there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams.7But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house.8With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?’9The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them.10When the cloud lifted from above the tent, Miriam’s skin was leprous[1] – it became as white as snow. Aaron turned towards her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease,11and he said to Moses, ‘Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed.12Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.’13So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘Please, God, heal her!’14The Lord replied to Moses, ‘If her father had spat in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.’15So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.16After that, the people left Hazeroth and camped in the Desert of Paran.
Numbers 12
English Standard Version
Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses
1Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman.2And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. (Nu 11:1; 2Ki 19:4; Isa 37:4; Eze 35:12; Mic 6:4; Mal 3:16)3Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.4And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out.5And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. (Nu 11:25; Nu 16:19)6And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. (Ge 20:6; Ge 31:10; Ge 46:2; 1Ki 3:5; Job 33:15; Eze 1:1; Da 8:2; Da 10:8; Da 10:16; Mt 1:20; Mt 27:19; Lu 1:11; Lu 1:22; Ac 10:11; Ac 22:17)7Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. (Ps 105:26; Heb 3:2; Heb 3:5)8With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” (Ex 33:11; Ex 33:20; Ex 33:23; Nu 7:89; De 34:10; Ps 49:4; Ps 78:2; Pr 1:6; 1Co 13:12)9And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed.10When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous,[1] like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. (Le 13:10; De 24:9)11And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us[2] because we have done foolishly and have sinned. (2Sa 19:19; 2Sa 24:10; Pr 30:32)12Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.”13And Moses cried to the Lord, “O God, please heal her—please.”14But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” (Le 13:46; De 25:9; Job 30:10)15So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again. (2Ki 15:5; 2Ch 26:20; Lu 17:12)16After that the people set out from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran. (Nu 10:12; Nu 11:35; Nu 33:18)