So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again.
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.
- KJV And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till 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.
- 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 you up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage. I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
- Hab 3:2Yahweh, I have heard of your fame. I stand in awe of your deeds, Yahweh. Renew your work in the middle of the years. In the middle of the years make it known. In wrath, you remember mercy.
- Mic 7:8–9Don’t rejoice against me, my enemy. When I fall, I will arise. When I sit in darkness, Yahweh will be a light to me.
- Lam 3:32For though he cause grief, yet he will have compassion according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.
- Deut 24:8–9Be careful in the plague of leprosy, that you observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites teach you. As I commanded them, so you shall observe to do.
- Gen 9:21–23He drank of the wine and got drunk. He was uncovered within his tent.
- Exod 20:12“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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.