Numbers 12
Christian Standard Bible
Miriam and Aaron Rebel
12 Miriam(A) and Aaron criticized Moses because of the Cushite 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 anyone 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[a] all my household.(D)
8 I speak with him(E) directly,[b]
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, resembling snow.[c] 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[d] 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.
Numbers 12
GOD’S WORD Translation
Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses
12 Miriam and Aaron began to criticize Moses because he was married to a woman from Sudan. 2 They asked, “Did the Lord speak only through Moses? Didn’t he also speak through us?” The Lord heard their complaint.
3 (Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on earth.)
4 Suddenly, the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “All three of you come to the tent of meeting.” So all three of them came. 5 Then the Lord came down in the column of smoke and stood at the entrance to the tent. He called to Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward.
6 He said, “Listen to my words: When there are prophets of the Lord among you, I make myself known to them in visions or speak to them in dreams. 7 But this is not the way I treat my servant Moses. He is the most faithful person in my household.[a] 8 I speak with him face to face, plainly and not in riddles. He even sees the form of the Lord. Why weren’t you afraid to criticize my servant Moses?”
9 The Lord was angry with them, so he left.
10 When the smoke left the tent, Miriam was covered with an infectious skin disease. She was as white as snow. Aaron turned to her and saw she was covered with the disease. 11 So he said to Moses, “Please, sir, don’t punish us for this foolish sin we committed. 12 Don’t let her be like a stillborn baby that’s not completely developed.”
13 So Moses cried to the Lord, “Please, God, heal her!”
14 The Lord replied to Moses, “If her own father had spit in her face, wouldn’t she be excluded from the community for seven days? She must be put in isolation outside the camp for seven days. Then she can be brought back.” 15 So Miriam was put in isolation outside the camp for seven days. The people didn’t break camp until she was brought back.
16 After that, the people moved from Hazeroth and set up camp in the Desert of Paran.
Footnotes
- 12:7 Or “He is in charge of my entire household.”
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