Limitless Word
And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.
Numbers 12:15 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Miriam was shut up outside of the camp seven days, and the people didn’t travel until Miriam was brought in again.
  • BSB So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until she was brought in again.
  • NKJV So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again.
  • NASB So Miriam was shut outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was received again.
  • NLT So Miriam was kept outside the camp for seven days, and the people waited until she was brought back before they traveled again.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Miriam is shut out seven days, and the people wait for her before traveling. The whole nation pauses in solidarity and under discipline.

Overview

Israel does not move on until Miriam is brought back, honoring the seven-day period. The community's waiting shows that one member's sin and restoration affect the whole people. It also reflects mercy, as Miriam is not cast off but restored to the camp.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • Mic 6:4For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
  • Hab 3:2O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.
  • Mic 7:8–9Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.
  • Lam 3:32But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
  • Deut 24:8–9Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do.
  • Gen 9:21–23And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
  • Exod 20:12Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Numbers videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Numbers 12:15YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on NumbersMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.

How Numbers 12:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.