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12 And Miriam speaketh -- Aaron also -- against Moses concerning the circumstance of the Cushite woman whom he had taken: for a Cushite woman he had taken;

and they say, `Only by Moses hath Jehovah spoken? also by us hath he not spoken?' and Jehovah heareth.

And the man Moses [is] very humble, more than any of the men who [are] on the face of the ground.

And Jehovah saith suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, `Come out ye three unto the tent of meeting;' and they three come out.

And Jehovah cometh down in the pillar of the cloud, and standeth at the opening of the tent, and calleth Aaron and Miriam, and they come out both of them.

And He saith, `Hear, I pray you, My words: If your prophet is of Jehovah -- in an appearance unto him I make Myself known; in a dream I speak with him;

not so My servant Moses; in all My house he [is] stedfast;

mouth unto mouth I speak with him, and [by] an appearance, and not in riddles; and the form of Jehovah he beholdeth attentively; and wherefore have ye not been afraid to speak against My servant -- against Moses?'

And the anger of Jehovah burneth against them, and He goeth on,

10 and the cloud hath turned aside from off the tent, and lo, Miriam [is] leprous as snow; and Aaron turneth unto Miriam, and lo, leprous!

11 And Aaron saith unto Moses, `O, my lord, I pray thee, lay not upon us sin [in] which we have been foolish, and [in] which we have sinned;

12 let her not, I pray thee, be as [one] dead, when in his coming out from the womb of his mother -- the half of his flesh is consumed.'

13 And Moses crieth unto Jehovah, saying, `O God, I pray Thee, give, I pray Thee, healing to her.'

14 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `And her father had but spat in her face -- is she not ashamed seven days? she is shut out seven days at the outside of the camp, and afterwards she is gathered.'

15 And Miriam is shut out at the outside of the camp seven days, and the people hath not journeyed till Miriam is gathered;

16 and afterwards have the people journeyed from Hazeroth, and they encamp in the wilderness of Paran.

Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses

12 Miriam(A) and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife,(B) for he had married a Cushite. “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?”(C) And the Lord heard this.(D)

(Now Moses was a very humble man,(E) more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

At 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. Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud;(F) he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, he said, “Listen to my words:

“When there is a prophet among you,
    I, the Lord, reveal(G) myself to them in visions,(H)
    I speak to them in dreams.(I)
But this is not true of my servant Moses;(J)
    he is faithful in all my house.(K)
With him I speak face to face,
    clearly and not in riddles;(L)
    he sees the form of the Lord.(M)
Why then were you not afraid
    to speak against my servant Moses?”(N)

The anger of the Lord burned against them,(O) and he left them.(P)

10 When the cloud lifted from above the tent,(Q) Miriam’s skin was leprous[a]—it became as white as snow.(R) Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease,(S) 11 and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed.(T) 12 Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.”

13 So Moses cried out to the Lord, “Please, God, heal her!(U)

14 The Lord replied to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face,(V) would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp(W) for seven days; after that she can be brought back.” 15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp(X) for seven days,(Y) and the people did not move on till she was brought back.

16 After that, the people left Hazeroth(Z) and encamped in the Desert of Paran.(AA)

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 12:10 The Hebrew for leprous was used for various diseases affecting the skin.