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Numbers 12-14
English Standard Version
Numbers 12-14
English Standard Version
Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses
12 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. 2 And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? (A)Has he not spoken through us also?” And (B)the Lord heard it. 3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. 4 And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. 5 And (C)the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. 6 And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him (D)in a vision; I speak with him (E)in a dream. 7 Not so with (F)my servant Moses. (G)He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak (H)mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in (I)riddles, and he beholds (J)the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” 9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed.
10 When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, (K)Miriam was (L)leprous,[a] like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. 11 And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, (M)do not punish us[b] because we have done foolishly and have sinned. 12 Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother's womb.” 13 And Moses cried to the Lord, “O God, please heal her—please.” 14 But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but (N)spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be (O)shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” 15 So Miriam (P)was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again. 16 After that the people set out from (Q)Hazeroth, and camped in (R)the wilderness of Paran.
Spies Sent into Canaan
13 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 (S)“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.” 3 So Moses sent them from (T)the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel. 4 And these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; 5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; 6 (U)from the tribe of Judah, (V)Caleb the son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, (W)Hoshea the son of Nun; 9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; 11 from the tribe of Joseph (that is, from the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi the son of Susi; 12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; 13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; 14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; 15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. 16 These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called (X)Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.
17 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into (Y)the Negeb and go up into (Z)the hill country, 18 and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, 19 and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, 20 and whether the land is (AA)rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. (AB)Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.
21 So they went up and spied out the land (AC)from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, (AD)near Lebo-hamath. 22 They went up into (AE)the Negeb and came to (AF)Hebron. (AG)Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the (AH)descendants of Anak, were there. ((AI)Hebron was built seven years before (AJ)Zoan in Egypt.) 23 And (AK)they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol,[c] because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there.
Report of the Spies
25 At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. 26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at (AL)Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It (AM)flows with milk and honey, (AN)and this is its fruit. 28 (AO)However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 (AP)The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. (AQ)And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”
30 But (AR)Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 (AS)Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 So (AT)they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and (AU)all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the (AV)Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the (AW)Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves (AX)like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”
The People Rebel
14 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people (AY)wept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel (AZ)grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or (BA)would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? (BB)Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to one another, (BC)“Let us choose a leader and (BD)go back to Egypt.”
5 Then (BE)Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 6 (BF)And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, (BG)“The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If (BH)the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, (BI)a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only (BJ)do not rebel against the Lord. And (BK)do not fear the people of the land, for (BL)they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 10 (BM)Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But (BN)the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.
11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people (BO)despise me? And how long will they not (BP)believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I (BQ)will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”
Moses Intercedes for the People
13 But (BR)Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, 14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. (BS)They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and (BT)your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, 16 ‘It is because the Lord (BU)was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ 17 And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, 18 (BV)‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, (BW)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ 19 Please (BX)pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just (BY)as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”
God Promises Judgment
20 Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, (BZ)according to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as all (CA)the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, 22 (CB)none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these (CC)ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 (CD)shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. 24 But my servant (CE)Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has (CF)followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. 25 (CG)Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, (CH)turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”
26 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall (CI)this wicked congregation grumble against me? (CJ)I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. 28 Say to them, (CK)‘As I live, declares the Lord, (CL)what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 (CM)your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and (CN)of all your number, listed in the census (CO)from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land where I (CP)swore that I would make you dwell, (CQ)except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 (CR)But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that (CS)you have rejected. 32 But as for you, (CT)your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children (CU)shall be shepherds in the wilderness (CV)forty years and shall (CW)suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 (CX)According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, (CY)forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ 35 (CZ)I, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all (DA)this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”
36 (DB)And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land— 37 the men who brought up a bad report of the land—(DC)died by plague before the Lord. 38 Of those men who went to spy out the land, (DD)only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive.
Israel Defeated in Battle
39 When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people (DE)mourned greatly. 40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, (DF)“Here we are. We will go up to the place that the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.” 41 (DG)But Moses said, “Why now are you transgressing the command of the Lord, when that will not succeed? 42 (DH)Do not go up, (DI)for the Lord is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies. 43 For there (DJ)the Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned back from following the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.” 44 (DK)But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither (DL)the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed out of the camp. 45 Then (DM)the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to (DN)Hormah.
Footnotes
- Numbers 12:10 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
- Numbers 12:11 Hebrew do not lay sin upon us
- Numbers 13:24 Eshcol means cluster
Numbers 12-14
New International Version
Numbers 12-14
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)
Exploring Canaan
13 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Send some men to explore(AB) the land of Canaan,(AC) which I am giving to the Israelites.(AD) From each ancestral tribe(AE) send one of its leaders.”
3 So at the Lord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.(AF) 4 These are their names:
from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zakkur;
5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;(AG)
7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;(AH)
9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
11 from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
16 These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore(AI) the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun(AJ) the name Joshua.)(AK)
17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan,(AL) he said, “Go up through the Negev(AM) and on into the hill country.(AN) 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.(AO)” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)(AP)
21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin(AQ) as far as Rehob,(AR) toward Lebo Hamath.(AS) 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron,(AT) where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai,(AU) the descendants of Anak,(AV) lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)(AW) 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshkol,[b](AX) they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates(AY) and figs.(AZ) 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days(BA) they returned from exploring the land.(BB)
Report on the Exploration
26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh(BC) in the Desert of Paran.(BD) There they reported to them(BE) and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.(BF) 27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey!(BG) Here is its fruit.(BH) 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.(BI) We even saw descendants of Anak(BJ) there.(BK) 29 The Amalekites(BL) live in the Negev; the Hittites,(BM) Jebusites(BN) and Amorites(BO) live in the hill country;(BP) and the Canaanites(BQ) live near the sea and along the Jordan.(BR)”
30 Then Caleb(BS) silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”(BT) 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report(BU) about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours(BV) those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.(BW) 33 We saw the Nephilim(BX) there (the descendants of Anak(BY) come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers(BZ) in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
The People Rebel
14 That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.(CA) 2 All the Israelites grumbled(CB) against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt!(CC) Or in this wilderness!(CD) 3 Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?(CE) Our wives and children(CF) will be taken as plunder.(CG) Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?(CH)” 4 And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.(CI)”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown(CJ) in front of the whole Israelite assembly(CK) gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun(CL) and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes(CM) 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.(CN) 8 If the Lord is pleased with us,(CO) he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey,(CP) and will give it to us.(CQ) 9 Only do not rebel(CR) against the Lord. And do not be afraid(CS) of the people of the land,(CT) because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with(CU) us.(CV) Do not be afraid of them.”(CW)
10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning(CX) them. Then the glory of the Lord(CY) appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt?(CZ) How long will they refuse to believe in me,(DA) in spite of all the signs(DB) I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague(DC) and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation(DD) greater and stronger than they.”(DE)
13 Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them.(DF) 14 And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard(DG) that you, Lord, are with these people(DH) and that you, Lord, have been seen face to face,(DI) that your cloud stays over them,(DJ) and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.(DK) 15 If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16 ‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath,(DL) so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’(DM)
17 “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion.(DN) Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’(DO) 19 In accordance with your great love, forgive(DP) the sin of these people,(DQ) just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”(DR)
20 The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them,(DS) as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live(DT) and as surely as the glory of the Lord(DU) fills the whole earth,(DV) 22 not one of those who saw my glory and the signs(DW) I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times(DX)— 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath(DY) to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt(DZ) will ever see it.(EA) 24 But because my servant Caleb(EB) has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly,(EC) I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.(ED) 25 Since the Amalekites(EE) and the Canaanites(EF) are living in the valleys, turn(EG) back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.[c](EH)”
26 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 27 “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites.(EI) 28 So tell them, ‘As surely as I live,(EJ) declares the Lord, I will do to you(EK) the very thing I heard you say: 29 In this wilderness your bodies will fall(EL)—every one of you twenty years old or more(EM) who was counted in the census(EN) and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land(EO) I swore with uplifted hand(EP) to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh(EQ) and Joshua son of Nun.(ER) 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.(ES) 32 But as for you, your bodies will fall(ET) in this wilderness. 33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years,(EU) suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 For forty years(EV)—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land(EW)—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’ 35 I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will surely do these things(EX) to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.(EY)”
36 So the men Moses had sent(EZ) to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble(FA) against him by spreading a bad report(FB) about it— 37 these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report(FC) about the land were struck down and died of a plague(FD) before the Lord. 38 Of the men who went to explore the land,(FE) only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.(FF)
39 When Moses reported this(FG) to all the Israelites, they mourned(FH) bitterly. 40 Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country,(FI) saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised. Surely we have sinned!(FJ)”
41 But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? This will not succeed!(FK) 42 Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies,(FL) 43 for the Amalekites(FM) and the Canaanites(FN) will face you there. Because you have turned away from the Lord, he will not be with you(FO) and you will fall by the sword.”
44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up(FP) toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord’s covenant moved from the camp.(FQ) 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites(FR) who lived in that hill country(FS) came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.(FT)
Footnotes
- Numbers 12:10 The Hebrew for leprous was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
- Numbers 13:23 Eshkol means cluster; also in verse 24.
- Numbers 14:25 Or the Sea of Reeds
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.