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:

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.