Numbers 12
New American Standard Bible
The Murmuring of Miriam and Aaron
12 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a (A)Cushite woman); 2 (B)and they said, “Is it a fact that the Lord has spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” And the Lord heard this. 3 (Now the man Moses was (C)very humble, more than any person who was on the face of the earth.) 4 And the Lord suddenly said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “You three go out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them went out. 5 (D)Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent; and He called Aaron and Miriam. When they had both come forward, 6 He said,
“Now hear My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, will make Myself known to him in a (E)vision.
I will speak with him in a (F)dream.
7 It is not this way for (G)My servant Moses;
(H)He is faithful in all My household;
8 (I)With him I speak mouth to mouth,
That is, openly, and not [a]using [b]mysterious language,
And he beholds (J)the form of the Lord.
So why were you not afraid
To speak against My servant, against Moses?”
9 And the anger of the Lord burned against them and (K)He departed. 10 But when the cloud had withdrawn from above the tent, behold, (L)Miriam was leprous, as (M)white as snow. As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was leprous. 11 Then Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, I beg you, (N)do not [c]hold us responsible for this sin by which we have turned out to be foolish, and by which we have sinned. 12 Oh, do not let her be like a dead person, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb!” 13 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “God, (O)heal her, please!” 14 But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had only (P)spit in her face, would she not be put to shame for seven days? Have her shut (Q)outside the camp for seven days, and afterward she may be received again.” 15 So (R)Miriam was shut outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was received again.
16 Afterward, however, the people moved on from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.
Footnotes
- Numbers 12:8 Lit in
- Numbers 12:8 Lit riddles
- Numbers 12:11 Lit place the sin on us
Numbers 12
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Miriam and Aaron Rebel
12 Miriam(A) and Aaron criticized Moses because of the Cushite[a][b] woman he married (for he had married a Cushite woman). 2 They said, “Does the Lord speak only through Moses? Does He not also speak through us?” And the Lord heard it. 3 Moses was a very humble man, more so than any man on the face of the earth.
4 Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them went out. 5 Then the Lord descended in a pillar of cloud,(B) stood at the entrance to the tent, and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them came forward, 6 He said:
“Listen to what I say:
If there is a prophet among you from the Lord,
I make Myself known to him in a vision;(C)
I speak with him in a dream.
7 Not so with My servant Moses;
he is faithful in[c] all My household.(D)
8 I speak with him(E) directly,[d]
openly, and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the Lord.(F)
So why were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?” 9 The Lord’s anger burned against them,(G) and He left.
10 As the cloud moved away from the tent, Miriam’s skin suddenly became diseased, as white as snow. When Aaron turned toward her, he saw that she was diseased 11 and said to Moses, “My lord, please don’t hold against us this sin we have so foolishly committed. 12 Please don’t let her be like a dead baby[e] whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.”
13 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “God, please heal her!”(H)
14 The Lord answered Moses, “If her father had merely spit in her face, wouldn’t she remain in disgrace for seven days? Let her be confined outside the camp(I) for seven days;(J) after that she may be brought back in.” 15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was brought back in.(K) 16 After that, the people set out from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.
Footnotes
- Numbers 12:1 LXX reads Ethiopian
- Numbers 12:1 = Sudan and Ethiopia
- Numbers 12:7 Or is entrusted with
- Numbers 12:8 Lit mouth to mouth
- Numbers 12:12 Ancient Jewish tradition reads [baby] who comes out of our mother’s womb and our flesh is half eaten away.
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