Numbers 12-13
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.
Scouting Out Canaan
13 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Send men to scout out the land of Canaan(L) I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.” 3 Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran at the Lord’s command. All the men were leaders in Israel.(M) 4 These were their names:
Shammua son of Zaccur from the tribe of Reuben;
5 Shaphat son of Hori from the tribe of Simeon;
6 Caleb(N) son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah;
7 Igal son of Joseph from the tribe of Issachar;
8 Hoshea son of Nun(O) from the tribe of Ephraim;
9 Palti son of Raphu from the tribe of Benjamin;
10 Gaddiel son of Sodi from the tribe of Zebulun;
11 Gaddi son of Susi from the tribe of Manasseh (from the tribe of Joseph);
12 Ammiel son of Gemalli from the tribe of Dan;
13 Sethur son of Michael from the tribe of Asher;
14 Nahbi son of Vophsi from the tribe of Naphtali;
15 Geuel son of Machi from the tribe of Gad.
16 These were the names of the men Moses sent to scout out the land, and Moses renamed Hoshea son of Nun, Joshua.
17 When Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up this way to the Negev, then go up into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like, and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 Is the land they live in good(P) or bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications?(Q) 20 Is the land fertile or unproductive?(R) Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some fruit from the land.” It was the season for the first ripe grapes.(S)
21 So they went up and scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin[f] as far as Rehob[g] near the entrance to Hamath.[h] 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak,(T) were living. Hebron was built seven years before Zoan(U) in Egypt. 23 When they came to the Valley of Eshcol,(V) they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs.(W) 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol[i] because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there. 25 At the end of 40 days(X) they returned from scouting out the land.
Report about Canaan
26 The men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for them and the whole community, and they showed them the fruit of the land.(Y) 27 They reported to Moses: “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey,(Z) and here is some of its fruit. 28 However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified.(AA) We also saw the descendants of Anak(AB) there. 29 The Amalekites(AC) are living in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb(AD) quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!”
31 But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t go up against the people because they are stronger than we are!” 32 So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size. 33 We even saw the Nephilim[j](AE) there—the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim!(AF) To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”
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.
- Numbers 13:21 Southern border of the promised land
- Numbers 13:21 Northern border of the promised land
- Numbers 13:21 Or near Lebo-hamath
- Numbers 13:24 = cluster
- Numbers 13:33 Possibly means fallen ones; traditionally, “giants”; Gn 6:4
Hebrews 7
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Greatness of Melchizedek
7 For this Melchizedek—
King of Salem, priest of the Most High God,
who met Abraham and blessed him
as he returned from defeating the kings,
2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything;
first, his name means king of righteousness,
then also, king of Salem,
meaning king of peace;
3 without father, mother, or genealogy,
having neither beginning of days nor end of life,
but resembling the Son of God(A)—
remains a priest forever.
4 Now consider how great this man was—even Abraham the patriarch(B) gave a tenth of the plunder to him! 5 The sons of Levi who receive the priestly office have a command according to the law to collect a tenth from the people(C)—that is, from their brothers—though they have also descended from Abraham.[a] 6 But one without this[b] lineage collected tenths from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises.(D) 7 Without a doubt,[c] the inferior is blessed by the superior. 8 In the one case, men who will die receive tenths, but in the other case, Scripture testifies that he lives.(E) 9 And in a sense Levi himself, who receives tenths, has paid tenths through Abraham, 10 for he was still within his ancestor[d] when Melchizedek met him.
A Superior Priesthood
11 If then, perfection came through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law(F)), what further need was there for another priest to appear, said to be in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron?(G) 12 For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must be a change of law as well. 13 For the One these things are spoken about belonged to a different tribe. No one from it has served at the altar. 14 Now it is evident that our Lord came from Judah,(H) and Moses said nothing about that tribe concerning priests.
15 And this becomes clearer if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 16 who did not become a priest based on a legal command concerning physical[e] descent but based on the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it has been testified:
18 So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable(J) 19 (for the law perfected(K) nothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.(L)
20 None of this happened without an oath. For others became priests without an oath, 21 but He became a priest with an oath made by the One who said to Him:
22 So Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant.(N)
23 Now many have become Levitical priests, since they are prevented by death from remaining in office. 24 But because He remains forever, He holds His priesthood permanently. 25 Therefore, He is always able to save[h] those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede(O) for them.
26 For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.(P) 27 He doesn’t need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do—first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all when He offered Himself.(Q) 28 For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promise of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son,(R) who has been perfected(S) forever.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 7:5 Lit have come out of Abraham’s loins
- Hebrews 7:6 Lit their
- Hebrews 7:7 Or Beyond any dispute
- Hebrews 7:10 Lit still in his father’s loins
- Hebrews 7:16 Or fleshly
- Hebrews 7:17 Ps 110:4
- Hebrews 7:21 Ps 110:4
- Hebrews 7:25 Or He is able to save completely
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