The meaning of Astray in the Bible
(From International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)

a-stra' (ta'ah, "to wander," "to err"; planaomai, "to go astray," each carrying the idea of being lost): With one exception (Exodus 23:4 "his ass going astray") used metaphorically of moral wandering, going astray in paths of error and sin, like "sheep going astray" (I Peter 2:25 the King James Version; Isaiah 53:6; Psalms 119:176). This wandering may be due (1) to inherent evil (Psalms 58:3); (2) to false shepherds (Jeremiah 50:6); contrast the beautiful and classic passage, Matthew 18:12-13, the Son of man (verse 12) seeketh that which is gone astray. No word more vividly portrays sin as a straying, a separation from God. To be morally "astray" is to be "lost."

Dwight M. Pratt

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