The Complaint of Miriam and Aaron

1And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, upon occasion of the Cushite the woman whom he had taken; for he had taken a Cushite woman. 2And they said, “Is it only indeed through Moses that YHWH has spoken? Is it not also through us that He has spoken?” And YHWH heard it.

3And the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.

4And YHWH said suddenly to Moses and Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you⁺ three, to the Tent of Meeting.” And the three came out. 5And YHWH came down in the pillar of cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam; and both of them went forward. 6And He said, “Hear now My words:

If there is a prophet among you⁺,

I, YHWH, make Myself known to him in a vision;

I speak to him in a dream.

7Not so My servant Moses;

in all My house He is faithful.†

8I speak with him mouth to mouth,

and even plainly and not in riddles;

and the form of YHWH he sees.

And why were you⁺ not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?” 9And the anger of YHWH was kindled against them, and He departed.

10And the cloud departed from above the Tent, and behold, Miriam was leprous† as snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. 11And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, please do not lay on us this sin, which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. 12Please do not let her be as one dead, who in his coming out from the womb of his mother, half of his flesh is consumed.”

13And Moses cried out to YHWH, saying, “O God, please, please, heal her.”

14And YHWH said to Moses, “And if her father surely had spit in her face, would not she be shamed seven days? Let her be shut seven days outside the camp, and afterward she may be received.”

15And Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not journey until the bringing in of Miriam. 16And afterward the people set out from Hazeroth, and they camped in the Wilderness of Paran.