Numbers 12

1 And Miriam speaks—Aaron also—against Moses concerning the circumstance of the Cushite woman whom he had taken, for he had taken a Cushite woman;

[Moses’/My older sister] Miriam and [his/my older brother] Aaron were saying this: “Is Moses the only one to whom Yahweh has spoken messages to tell to us [RHQ]? Does Yahweh not speak messages to us two also?” [They told people that] they were saying that because Moses/I had married a woman who was a descendant of the Cush people-group, [but they were really saying that because they (were jealous/did not want Moses/me to be the only leader of the Israeli people)]. But Yahweh heard what they were saying.

2 and they say, “Has YHWH only spoken by Moses? Has he not also spoken by us?” And YHWH hears.

3 And the man Moses [is] very humble, more than any of the men who [are] on the face of the ground.

[The truth was that] Moses/I was very humble. He/I was more humble than anyone else on the earth [and Moses/I had not appointed himself/myself to be their leader].

4 And YHWH suddenly says to Moses, and to Aaron, and to Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting”; and those three come out.

So immediately Yahweh spoke to Moses/me and to Aaron and Miriam. He said, “All three of you must go and stand at the Sacred Tent.” So they/we did that.

5 And YHWH comes down in the pillar of the cloud, and stands at the opening of the tent, and calls Aaron and Miriam, and both of them come out.

Then Yahweh descended to the entrance of the tent in a cloud [that resembled a huge white] pillar. He told Aaron and Miriam to step forward, so they did.

6 And He says, “Now hear My words: If your prophet is of YHWH, I make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream.

Then he said to them, “Listen to me! When a prophet is among you, I [usually] reveal myself to him by allowing him to see visions, and I speak to him in dreams.

7 Not so My servant Moses; He [is] steadfast in all My house.

But that is not the way I speak to my servant Moses. I trust that he will lead my people [well].

8 I speak with him mouth to mouth, Even [by] an appearance, and not in riddles; And he beholds the form of YHWH attentively. Now why have you not been afraid To speak against My servant—against Moses?”

So I talk to him face-to-face. I speak to him (clearly/using words that he will understand easily), not using parables. He has even seen what I look like. So you should be afraid to criticize my servant Moses!”

9 And the anger of YHWH burns against them, and He goes on,

Yahweh was very angry with Miriam and Aaron, and he left.

10 and the cloud has turned aside from off the tent, and behold, Miriam [is] leprous as snow; and Aaron turns to Miriam, and behold, leprous!

When the cloud rose up from the Sacred Tent, Aaron looked at Miriam, and he saw that her skin was [as white] as snow, because she now had leprosy.

11 And Aaron says to Moses, “O my lord, please do not lay [this] sin on us [in] which we have been foolish, and [in] which we have sinned;

Aaron said to Moses/me, “My master, please do not punish us for this sin that we have foolishly committed.

12 please do not let her be as [one] dead, when in his coming out from the womb of his mother—the half of his flesh is consumed.”

Do not allow Miriam to be like a baby that is already dead when it is born, whose flesh is already half decayed!”

13 And Moses cries to YHWH, saying, “O God, please give healing to her! Please!”

So Moses/I cried out to Yahweh, saying, “God, I plead with you to heal her!”

14 And YHWH says to Moses, “But [if] her father had but spat in her face—is she not ashamed [for] seven days? She is shut out [for] seven days at the outside of the camp, and afterward she is gathered.”

But Yahweh replied, “If her father had [rebuked her for doing something wrong by] spitting in her face, she would have been ashamed for seven days. [She should be ashamed because of what she has done]. So send her outside the camp for seven days. Then [she will not have leprosy any more, and] she may return to the camp.”

15 And Miriam is shut out at the outside of the camp [for] seven days, and the people have not journeyed until Miriam is gathered;

So they sent her outside the camp for seven days. (The people/We) did not move [to another location] until she returned.

16 and afterward the people have journeyed from Hazeroth, and they encamp in the wilderness of Paran.

But after [she returned], they/we left Hazeroth and moved [north] in the Paran Desert and set up their/our tents there.