Numbers 12
King James Version
12 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
2 And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it.
3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
4 And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
5 And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed.
10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.
11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.
12 Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb.
13 And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
14 And the Lord said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.
15 And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.
16 And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran.
Numbers 12
1599 Geneva Bible
12 1 Aaron and Miriam grudge against Moses. 10 Miriam is stricken with leprosy, and healed at the prayer of Moses.
1 Afterward Miriam and Aaron [a]spake against Moses, because of the woman of Ethiopia whom he had married (for he had married [b]a woman of Ethiopia.)
2 And they said, What? hath the Lord spoken but only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? and the Lord heard this.
3 (But Moses was a very [c]meek man above all the men that were upon the earth.)
4 And by and by the Lord said unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, come out ye three unto the Tabernacle of the Congregation: and they three came forth.
5 Then the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the Tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forth.
6 And he said, Hear now my words, If there be a Prophet of the Lord among you, I will be known to him by a [d]vision, and will speak unto him by dream.
7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful [e]in all mine house,
8 Unto him will I speak (A)mouth to mouth, and by vision, and not in dark words, but he shall [f]see the similitude of the Lord. Wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant, even against Moses?
9 Thus the Lord was very angry with them, and departed.
10 Also the cloud departed from the [g]Tabernacle: and behold, Miriam was leprous like snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.
11 Then Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, which we have foolishly committed, and wherein we have sinned.
12 Let her not, I pray thee, be as one [h]dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed, when he cometh out of his mother’s womb.
13 Then Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, O God, I beseech thee, heal her now.
14 ¶ And the Lord said unto Moses, If her father had [i]spit in her face, should she not have been ashamed seven days? let her be (B)shut out of the host seven days, and after she shall be received.
15 So Miriam was shut out of the host seven days, and the people removed not, till Miriam was brought in again.
Footnotes
- Numbers 12:1 Or, murmured.
- Numbers 12:1 Zipporah Moses’ wife was a Midianite, and because Midian bordered on Ethiopia, it is sometimes in the Scriptures comprehended under this name.
- Numbers 12:3 And so bare with their grudging, although he knew them.
- Numbers 12:6 These were the two ordinary means.
- Numbers 12:7 In all Israel which was his Church.
- Numbers 12:8 So far as any man was able to comprehend, which he calleth his back parts, Exod. 33:23.
- Numbers 12:10 From the door of the Tabernacle.
- Numbers 12:12 As a child that cometh out of his mother’s belly dead, having as it were but the skin.
- Numbers 12:14 In his displeasure.
Numbers 12
New King James Version
Dissension of Aaron and Miriam
12 Then (A)Miriam and Aaron [a]spoke (B)against Moses because of the [b]Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for (C)he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2 So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through (D)Moses? (E)Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord (F)heard it. 3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)
4 (G)Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out. 5 (H)Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. 6 Then He said,
“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, make Myself known to him (I)in a vision;
I speak to him (J)in a dream.
7 Not so with (K)My servant Moses;
(L)He is faithful in all (M)My house.
8 I speak with him (N)face to face,
Even (O)plainly,[c] and not in [d]dark sayings;
And he sees (P)the form of the Lord.
Why then (Q)were you not afraid
To speak against My servant Moses?”
9 So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, and He departed. 10 And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, (R)suddenly Miriam became (S)leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper. 11 So Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Please (T)do not lay [e]this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. 12 Please (U)do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb!”
13 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “Please (V)heal her, O God, I pray!”
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but (W)spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her be (X)shut[f] out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again.” 15 (Y)So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again. 16 And afterward the people moved from (Z)Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.
Footnotes
- Numbers 12:1 criticized
- Numbers 12:1 Cushite
- Numbers 12:8 appearing
- Numbers 12:8 riddles
- Numbers 12:11 the penalty for this
- Numbers 12:14 exiled
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

