Understand every verse you read with Bible Gateway Plus. Read Scripture ad-free and access trusted study tools beside every passage. Try it FREE for 7 days.
Log In/Sign Up

#
Numbers 12
New International Version

### Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses

12 Miriam(A) and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife,(B) for he had married a Cushite. 2 “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?”(C) And the Lord heard this.(D)

3 (Now Moses was a very humble man,(E) more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

4 At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them went out. 5 Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud;(F) he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, 6 he said, “Listen to my words:

“When there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, reveal(G) myself to them in visions,(H)
I speak to them in dreams.(I)
7 But this is not true of my servant Moses;(J)
he is faithful in all my house.(K)
8 With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;(L)
he sees the form of the Lord.(M)
Why then were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?”(N)

9 The anger of the Lord burned against them,(O) and he left them.(P)

10 When the cloud lifted from above the tent,(Q) Miriam’s skin was leprous[a]—it became as white as snow.(R) Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease,(S) 11 and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed.(T) 12 Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.”

13 So Moses cried out to the Lord, “Please, God, heal her!(U)”

14 The Lord replied to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face,(V) would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp(W) for seven days; after that she can be brought back.” 15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp(X) for seven days,(Y) and the people did not move on till she was brought back.

16 After that, the people left Hazeroth(Z) and encamped in the Desert of Paran.(AA)

#### Footnotes

1. Numbers 12:10 The Hebrew for leprous was used for various diseases affecting the skin.

#### Cross references

1. Numbers 12:1 : S Ex 15:20
2. Numbers 12:1 : S Ex 2:21
3. Numbers 12:2 : Nu 16:3
4. Numbers 12:2 : S Nu 11:1
5. Numbers 12:3 : Mt 11:29
6. Numbers 12:5 : S Ex 13:21; S Nu 11:25
7. Numbers 12:6 : 1Sa 3:7, 21
8. Numbers 12:6 : S Ge 15:1
9. Numbers 12:6 : S Ge 20:3; S Mt 27:19; Heb 1:1
10. Numbers 12:7 : Dt 34:5; Jos 1:1-2; Ps 105:26
11. Numbers 12:7 : Heb 3:2, 5
12. Numbers 12:8 : Jdg 14:12; 1Ki 10:1; Ps 49:4; Pr 1:6; Da 5:12
13. Numbers 12:8 : Ex 20:4; Job 19:26; Ps 17:15; 140:13; Isa 6:1
14. Numbers 12:8 : Ex 24:2
15. Numbers 12:9 : S Ex 4:14
16. Numbers 12:9 : S Ge 17:22
17. Numbers 12:10 : Ex 40:2
18. Numbers 12:10 : S Ex 4:6; Dt 24:9
19. Numbers 12:10 : S Lev 13:11; 2Ki 5:1, 27; 2Ch 16:12; 21:12-15; 26:19
20. Numbers 12:11 : 2Sa 19:19; 24:10
21. Numbers 12:13 : Ex 15:26; Ps 6:2; 147:3; Isa 1:6; 30:26; 53:5; Jer 17:14; Hos 6:1
22. Numbers 12:14 : Dt 25:9; Job 17:6; 30:9-10; Isa 50:6
23. Numbers 12:14 : S Lev 13:46
24. Numbers 12:15 : S Lev 14:8
25. Numbers 12:15 : S Lev 13:4
26. Numbers 12:16 : Nu 11:35
27. Numbers 12:16 : Ge 21:21; Nu 10:12; 15:32

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

### More on the NIV

- Unleash God's Word!

#### Bible Gateway Recommends

NIV, The Story, Hardcover, Comfort Print: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People
Retail: $19.98
Our Price: $7.50
Save: $12.48 (62%)
Buy Now
NIV, Biblical Theology Study Bible, Comfort Print: Follow God’s Redemptive Plan as It Unfolds throughout Scripture
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $41.99
Save: $18.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NIV, Artisan Collection Bible, Gilded Edges, Red Letter Edition, Comfort Print
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $41.99
Save: $18.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NIV, The Woman's Study Bible, Full-Color, Red Letter: Receiving God's Truth for Balance, Hope, and Transformation
Retail: $49.99
Our Price: $34.99
Save: $15.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NIV, Journal the Word Bible, Red Letter, Comfort Print: Reflect, Take Notes, or Create Art Next to Your Favorite Verses
Retail: $39.99
Our Price: $27.99
Save: $12.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NIV, Radiant Virtues Bible: A Beautiful Word Collection, Red Letter Edition, Comfort Print: Explore the virtues of faith, hope, and love
Retail: $69.98
Our Price: $48.99
Save: $20.99 (30%)
Buy Now
View more titles