Numbers 12

¹And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, because of his wife, an Ethiopian,

²and they said: “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has he not also spoken similarly to us?” And when the Lord had heard this,

³(for Moses was a man exceedingly meek, beyond all the men who were living upon the earth)

⁴immediately he spoke to him, and to Aaron and Miriam, “Go out, you three only, to the tabernacle of the covenant.” And when they had gone out,

⁵the Lord descended in a column of cloud, and he stood at the entrance of the tabernacle, calling to Aaron and Miriam. And when they had advanced,

⁶he said to them: “Listen to my words. If there will be among you a prophet of the Lord, I will appear to him in a vision, or I will speak to him through a dream.

⁷But it is not so with my servant Moses, who is the most faithful in all my house.

⁸For I speak with him mouth to mouth, and plainly. And not through enigmas and figures does he perceive the Lord. Therefore, why were you not afraid to disparage my servant Moses?”

⁹And being angry against them, he went away.

¹⁰Likewise, the cloud which was over the tabernacle withdrew. And behold, Miriam appeared to be white with a leprosy, like snow. And when Aaron had looked upon her, and he had seen the spreading of the leprosy,

¹¹he said to Moses: “I beg you, my lord, not to impose upon us this sin, which we have committed foolishly.

¹²Do not let this one be like one who is dead, or like an abortion that has been cast from the womb of her mother. Behold, half of her flesh is already consumed by leprosy.”

¹³And Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “O God, I beg you: heal her.”

¹⁴And the Lord answered him: “If her father had spit on her face, should she not have been filled with shame for at least seven days? Let her be separated, outside the camp, for seven days, and after that, she will be called back.”

¹⁵And so Miriam was excluded from the camp for seven days. And the people did not move from that place, until Miriam was called back.

Numbers 12

¹And Mary and Aaron spoke against Moses, because of his wife the Ethiopian,

²And they said: Hath the Lord spoken by Moses only? Hath he not also spoken to us in like manner? And when the Lord heard this,

³(For Moses was a man exceeding meek above all men that dwelt upon earth)

⁴Immediately he spoke to him, and to Aaron and Mary: Come out you three only to the tabernacle of the covenant. And when they were come out,

⁵The Lord came down in a pillar of the cloud, and stood in the entry of the tabernacle calling to Aaron and Mary. And when they were come,

⁶He said to them: Hear my words: if there be among you a prophet of the Lord, I will appear to him in a vision, or I will speak to him in a dream.

⁷But it is not so with my servant Moses who is most faithful in all my house:

⁸For I speak to him mouth to mouth: and plainly, and not by riddles and figures doth he see the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak ill of my servant Moses?

⁹And being angry with them he went away:

¹⁰The cloud also that was over the tabernacle departed: and behold Mary appeared white as snow with a leprosy. And when Aaron had looked on her, and saw her all covered with leprosy,

¹¹He said to Moses: I beseech thee, my lord, lay not upon us this sin, which we have foolishly committed:

¹²Let her not be as one dead, and as an abortive that is cast forth from the mother's womb. Lo, now one half of her flesh is consumed with the leprosy.

¹³And Moses cried to the Lord, saying O God, I beseech thee heal her.

¹⁴And the Lord answered him: If her father had spitten upon her face, ought she not to have been ashamed for seven days at least? Let her be separated seven days without the camp, and afterwards she shall be called again.

¹⁵Mary therefore was put out of the camp seven days: and the people moved not from that place until Mary was called again.