Numbers 12
The full text of Numbers 12 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 Miriam and Aaron began to speak against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman.
2 "Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" And the LORD heard this.
3 (Now Moses was a very humble man, 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; 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 myself to them in visions,
I speak to them in dreams.
7 But this is not true of my servant Moses;
he is faithful in all my house.
8 With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the LORD.
Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?"
9 The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them.
10 When the cloud lifted from above the tent, there stood Miriam—her skin diseased, white as snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease,
11 and he said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed.
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!"
14 The LORD replied to Moses, "If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back."
15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.
16 After that, the people left Hazeroth and camped in the Desert of Paran.
Translation notes (8)
- Numbers 12:1a The term "Cushite" translates the Hebrew kushit, which refers to a woman from Cush, a region south of Egypt often associated with Nubia or Ethiopia. It is debated among ancient and modern interpreters whether this woman is Zipporah the Midianite (Exodus 2:21) described in a different way, or if she is a second wife; this note does not resolve that question. The translation presents the grievance, its reasons, and the ethnic aspect plainly.
- Numbers 12:3a The word "humble" translates the Hebrew 'anav, meaning lowly, meek, and not self-asserting. In the Hebrew text, the written form of the word and the way it is read (a ketiv/qere scribal note) differ slightly, but this does not change the meaning. This parenthetical comment is the narrator's, and whether Moses wrote this self-description is an ancient discussion that is not resolved here.
- Numbers 12:6a Verses 6-8 form a short poetic oracle and are presented as such. The opening line is difficult in the Hebrew text (im-yihyeh nevi'akhem YHWH...), but it is translated to show that ordinary prophecy comes through visions and dreams, unlike Moses' unique experience (verse 8). The precise grammatical structure of this line is debated and not definitively resolved in this translation.
- Numbers 12:7a The phrase "faithful in all my house" translates the Hebrew ne'eman be-khol beyti, meaning trusted and reliable throughout God's entire household. This highlights Moses' unique standing among the prophets. This phrase is also quoted in reference to Christ in Hebrews 3:2-5.
- Numbers 12:8a The phrase "face to face" translates the Hebrew peh el peh, which literally means "mouth to mouth," indicating direct, unmediated speech. "The form of the LORD" translates the Hebrew temunat YHWH, a striking phrase that emphasizes the immediacy of Moses' encounter without resolving the long theological discussion about how God is "seen." The translation preserves this weight without making a judgment on the theological debate.
- Numbers 12:10a The phrase "a defiling skin disease" translates the Hebrew metsora'at. The term tsara'at refers to a serious, ritually defiling skin condition (which also includes mildew on cloth or houses), and it is not the same as modern Hansen's disease. The description "white as snow" refers to its appearance. Older translations often used the word "leprous."
- Numbers 12:12a This stark comparison likens Miriam's diseased state to a stillborn baby. An old scribal tradition softened the original Hebrew "its mother's womb / its flesh" to "our mother's womb / our flesh" out of reverence for Moses' relatives; however, the translation keeps the plain text. The disturbing image is rendered exactly as it appears in the Hebrew.
- Numbers 12:13a The Hebrew text here is extremely terse and intense: 'el na refa na lah. These five short words double the pleading particle na, and the translation preserves the brevity of Moses' intercession.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own modern English translation, worked directly from the original Hebrew and honest to the earliest manuscripts. It was completed in 2026 — the most modern English Bible translation — and is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter, including all of Numbers, is free to read here on the web.
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