And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh’s angel went further, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
- BSB And the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn to the right or left.
- NKJV Then the Angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
- NASB Then the angel of the Lord went farther, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right or to the left.
- NLT Then the angel of the Lord moved farther down the road and stood in a place too narrow for the donkey to get by at all.
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
The angel moves to a place so narrow there is no room to turn aside at all. Every avenue of escape is now closed.
Overview
This third position leaves the donkey, and Balaam, with no way out but to face the angel. The escalating confinement dramatizes the inescapability of God's confrontation. When God determines to deal with a person, no path of evasion remains.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
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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 22:26 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.