to go astray
ta.ah describes wandering from a place or path and, often, being led away from a right way.
The verb most often occurs in clauses where a person, leader, teaching, or way leads people away from a proper course; it also describes people departing from a way, commandments, understanding, or prudent conduct. In a smaller group of verses, it depicts physical wandering or an animal found off course.
Senses in use
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Leading or causing others to stray · dominant
Hiphil forms commonly place an agent before those diverted: in 2 Kings 21:9 Manasseh leads Judah into evil, and in Jeremiah 23:32 false dream-prophets lead the people astray through deceptions. In Job 12:24 the same form is used of making chiefs wander in a pathless waste, showing that the induced departure can be expressed as loss of direction.
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Departing from a right way or course · common
Qal forms describe subjects themselves leaving a stated way or standard: in Isaiah 53:6 all turn to their own way, while Psalm 119:110 contrasts the speaker's not straying with remaining faithful to the precepts. In Proverbs 21:16, the person who strays from the way of prudence faces the stated consequence, and Ezekiel 14:11 speaks of Israel no longer going astray from following God.
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Wandering off in a physical setting · occasional
In Genesis 21:14, a Qal sequential imperfect describes Hagar wandering in the wilderness of Beersheba; Psalm 107:4 likewise places the wandering in a desolate wilderness way with no city found. The Qal participles in Exodus 23:4 and Genesis 37:15 identify a stray donkey and a man found off course in a field.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB most often renders the verb with “go astray,” “lead... astray,” or “wander.” In clauses involving a path, wilderness, or an animal, it also uses “stray” and “wandered”; These renderings indicate the clauses' overall presentation rather than fixed English equivalents.