Bible Strands
Job 6:18
Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go into the wasteland and perish.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job speaks to his three comforters during his extended lament, using a caravan analogy to describe their sudden abandonment.
The words — יִלָּפְתוּ (yi.La.fe.tu) means “they twist” or turn aside, and תֹהוּ (To.hu) denotes the “wasteland” where the travelers perish.
The thread — The verse continues the metaphor from Job 6:17 about seasonal brooks vanishing in heat, directly framing the disappointed caravans of Tema and Sheba described in Job 6:19.
Why it lands — The text presents a concrete image of route deviation leading to destruction, requiring the reader to see how abandoned commitments produce ruin and to evaluate the reliability of current promises.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish.