1And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.12.1 Ethiopian: or, Cushite12.1 married: Heb. taken 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.
14¶ And 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.
Miriam and Aaron Speak Against Moses
1Miriam and Aaron began to say bad things about Moses. That’s because Moses had married a woman from Cush. 2“Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” The Lord heard what they said.
3Moses was a very humble man. In fact, he was more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.
4The Lord spoke to Moses, Aaron and Miriam. He said, “All three of you, come out to the tent of meeting.” So they did. 5Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud. He stood at the entrance to the tent. And he told Aaron and Miriam to come to him. The two of them stepped forward. 6Then the Lord said, “Listen to my words.
“Suppose there is a prophet among you.
I, the Lord, make myself known to them in visions.
I speak to them in dreams.
7But this is not true of my servant Moses.
He is faithful in everything he does in my house.
8With Moses I speak face to face.
I speak with him clearly. I do not speak in riddles.
I let him see something of what I look like.
So why were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?”
9The Lord was very angry with them. And he left them.
10When the cloud went up from above the tent, there stood Miriam. She had a disease that made her skin as white as snow. Aaron turned toward her. He saw that she had a skin disease. 11So he said to Moses, “We have committed a very foolish sin. Please don’t hold it against us. 12Don’t let Miriam be like a baby that was born dead. Don’t let her look like a dead baby whose body is half eaten away.”
13So Moses cried out to the Lord. He said, “Please, God, heal her!”
14The Lord answered Moses. He said, “Suppose her father had spit in her face. Then she would have been put to shame for seven days. So keep her outside the camp for seven days. After that, you can bring her back.” 15So Miriam was kept outside the camp for seven days. The people didn’t move on until she was brought back.
16After that, the people left Hazeroth. They camped in the Desert of Paran.
