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Numbers 12-14
New Life Version
Numbers 12-14
New Life Version
Miriam and Aaron Spoke against Moses
12 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite woman. 2 They said, “Is it true that the Lord has spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. 3 Now Moses was a man with no pride, more so than any man on the earth. 4 At once the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam, “You three come out to the meeting tent.” So the three of them came out. 5 Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood at the door of the meeting tent, and called Aaron and Miriam. When both of them had come near, 6 the Lord said, “Now listen to Me. If there is a man who speaks for God among you, I the Lord will make Myself known to him in a special dream. I will speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so, with My servant Moses. He is faithful in all My house. 8 With him I speak face to face in ways he understands, and not in ways he does not understand. And he sees what the Lord is like. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
9 The Lord was angry with them, and He left. 10 When the cloud lifted from over the meeting tent, Miriam had a very bad skin disease. She was as white as snow. Aaron turned toward Miriam and saw that she had a bad skin disease. 11 Then Aaron said to Moses, “O, my lord, I beg you. Do not punish us because we have been foolish and have sinned. 12 Let her not be like one who is dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he is born!”‘ 13 And Moses cried to the Lord, saying, “O God, heal her, I pray!” 14 But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had only spit in her face, would she not carry her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days away from the tents. After that, she may be brought in again.” 15 So Miriam was shut up away from the tents for seven days. And the people did not travel on until Miriam was brought in again.
16 The people moved from Hazeroth after that. And they set up their tents in the desert of Paran.
Men Sent to Spy out the Land
13 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan which I am going to give to the people of Israel. Send a man from each of their fathers’ families, every one a leader among them.” 3 So Moses sent them from the desert of Paran, as the Lord had told him. All of the men were heads of the people of Israel. 4 These were their names. There was Shammua the son of Zaccur from the family of Reuben, 5 Shaphat the son of Hori from the family of Simeon, 6 Caleb the son of Jephunneh from the family of Judah, 7 and Igal the son of Joseph from the family of Issachar. 8 There was Hoshea the son of Nun from the family of Ephraim, 9 Palti the son of Raphu from the family of Benjamin, 10 Gaddiel the son of Sodi from the family of Zebulun, 11 and Gaddi the son of Susi from the family of Joseph, from the family of Manasseh. 12 There was Ammiel the son of Gemalli from the family of Dan, 13 Sethur the son of Michael from the family of Asher, 14 Nahbi the son of Vophsi from the family of Naphtali, 15 and Geuel the son of Machi from the family of Gad. 16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. But Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.
17 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan. He said to them, “Go up there into the Negev. Then go up into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like. See if the people who live in it are strong or weak, and if they are few or many. 19 Find out if the land they live in is good or bad. See if the cities they live in are open or if they have walls. 20 Find out if the land is rich or poor, and if there are trees in it or not. Then try to get some of the fruit of the land.” Now this was the gathering time of the first grown grapes.
21 So they went up and spied out the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, at Lebo-hamath. 22 When they had gone up into the Negev, they came to Hebron. Anak’s sons Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
23 Then they came to the valley of Eshcol. They cut down a branch from there with some grapes on it. And they carried it on a long piece of wood between two men, with some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of much fruit the men of Israel cut down from there.
25 They returned from looking over the land after forty days. 26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the people of Israel in the desert of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought news to them and to all the people, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They told Moses, “We went to the land where you sent us. It does flow with milk and honey. This is its fruit. 28 But the people who live in the land are strong. The cities have walls and are very large. And we saw the children of Anak there. 29 Amalek is living in the land of the Negev. The Hittites and Jebusites and Amorites are living in the hill country. And the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb told the people in front of Moses to be quiet. And he said, “Let us go up at once and take the land. For we are well able to take it in battle.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go against the people. They are too strong for us.” 32 So they brought the people of Israel bad news about the land they had spied out, saying, “The land we have gone to spy out is a land that destroys those who go there to live. All the people we saw in it are very large. 33 We saw the Nephilim there. (The sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim.) We looked like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
The People Complain
14 Then all the people cried out with a loud voice, and they cried that night. 2 All the people of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this desert! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to be killed by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be taken away. Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and return to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in front of all the gathering of the people of Israel. 6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh tore their clothes. They were among those who had spied out the land. 7 They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we passed through to spy out is a very good land. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us. It is a land which flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not go against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land. For they will be our food. They have no way to keep safe, and the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” 10 But all the people said to throw stones at Joshua and Caleb. Then the shining-greatness of the Lord was seen in the meeting tent by all the people of Israel.
Moses Prays for the People
11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people turn away from Me? How long will they not believe in Me, even after all the great works I have done among them? 12 I will punish them with disease, and will not give them the land. And I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”
13 But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it. For You brought this people here by Your strength from among them. 14 And they will tell the people who live in this land. They have heard
that You, O Lord, are with these people and that You, O Lord, are seen face to face as Your cloud is over them. You go before them in a cloud during the day, and in fire during the night. 15 Now if You kill these people as one man, the nations who have heard how great You are will say, 16 ‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land He promised to give them. So He has killed them in the desert.’ 17 But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great as You have promised, saying, 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and filled with loving-kindness, forgiving sin and wrong-doing. But He will not let the guilty go without being punished. He brings the sin of fathers down upon the children, even the great-grandchildren.’ 19 I pray that You will forgive the sin of this people by the greatness of Your loving-kindness. Forgive them as You have forgiven them from Egypt until now.”
20 So the Lord said, “I have forgiven them as you asked. 21 But for sure, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the shining-greatness of the Lord. 22 All the men who have seen My greatness and My wonderful works which I did in Egypt and in the desert but have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, for sure, they 23 will not see the land I promised to their fathers. None of those who have turned away from Me will see it. 24 But My servant Caleb has had a different spirit and has followed Me in every way. I will bring him into the land where he went, and his children will take it for themselves. 25 Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys. So turn tomorrow and move on to the desert by the way of the Red Sea.”
Punishment for the People Who Complained
26 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 27 “How long will these sinful people speak against Me? I have heard the people of Israel complaining against Me. 28 Say to them, ‘As I live, what you have said in My hearing I will do to you,’ says the Lord. 29 ‘Your dead bodies will fall in this desert, all of you who were numbered from twenty years old and older, who have spoken against Me. 30 For sure, not one will go into the land where I promised to have you live, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 You said that your children would be taken and killed. But I will bring them in, and they will know the land you have turned away from. 32 But as for you, your dead bodies will fall in this desert. 33 Your children will be shepherds in the desert for forty years. They will suffer because you were not faithful, until your dead bodies lie in the desert. 34 You spied out the land for forty days. For each day you will carry your guilt a year, forty years. And you will know that I am against you. 35 I the Lord have spoken. For sure I will do this to all these sinful people who are gathered together against Me. They will be destroyed in this desert. And there they will die.’” 36 Moses had sent men to spy out the land. They returned and made all the people complain against him by bringing bad news about the land. 37 These men who brought the very bad news about the land died of a disease before the Lord. 38 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh stayed alive, of those men who went to spy out the land.
39 When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people were filled with much sorrow. 40 They got up early in the morning and went up to the top of the hill country, saying, “Here we are. It is true we have sinned. But we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised.” 41 But Moses said, “Why now do you sin against the Word of the Lord? It will not get you what you want. 42 Do not go up, or you will be killed by those who fight against you. For the Lord is not with you. 43 The Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will be killed by the sword. Because you have turned away from following the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.” 44 But they would not listen and went up to the top of the hill country. The special box with the Law of the Lord, and Moses, did not leave the tents. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and went against them and beat them down as far as Hormah.
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
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