Numbers 12

¹And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.

²And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it.

³(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)

⁴And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.

⁵And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.

⁶And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.

⁷My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.

⁸With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

⁹And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed.

¹⁰And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.

¹¹And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.

¹²Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb.

¹³And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.

¹⁴And the Lord said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.

¹⁵And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.

¹⁶And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran.

Numbers 12

¹Now Miriam and Aaron said evil against Moses, because of the Cushite woman to whom he was married, for he had taken a Cushite woman as his wife.

²And they said, Have the words of the Lord been given to Moses only? have they not come to us? And the Lord took note of it.

³Now the man Moses was more gentle than any other man on earth.

⁴And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam, Come out, you three, to the Tent of meeting. And the three of them went out.

⁵And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud, taking his place at the door of the Tent, and made Aaron and Miriam come before him.

⁶And he said, Now give ear to my words: if there is a prophet among you I will give him knowledge of myself in a vision and will let my words come to him in a dream.

⁷My servant Moses is not so; he is true to me in all my house:

⁸With him I will have talk mouth to mouth, openly and not in dark sayings; and with his eyes he will see the form of the Lord: why then had you no fear of saying evil against my servant Moses?

⁹And burning with wrath against them, the Lord went away.

¹⁰And the cloud was moved from over the Tent; and straight away Miriam became a leper, as white as snow: and Aaron, looking at Miriam, saw that she was a leper.

¹¹Then Aaron said to Moses, O my lord, let not our sin be on our heads, for we have done foolishly and are sinners.

¹²Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half wasted when he comes out from the body of his mother.

¹³And Moses, crying to the Lord, said, Let my prayer come before you, O God, and make her well.

¹⁴And the Lord said to Moses, If her father had put a mark of shame on her, would she not be shamed for seven days? Let her be shut up outside the tent-circle for seven days, and after that she may come in again.

¹⁵So Miriam was shut up outside the tent-circle for seven days: and the people did not go forward on their journey till Miriam had come in again.

¹⁶After that, the people went on from Hazeroth and put up their tents in the waste land of Paran.