1 Kings 22:20-23

22:20 The Lord said, ‘Who will deceive Ahab, so he will attack Ramoth Gilead and die ¹  there?’ One said this and another that. 22:21 Then a spirit ²  stepped forward and stood before the Lord. He said, ‘I will deceive him.’ The Lord asked him, ‘How?’ 22:22 He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord ³  said, ‘Deceive and overpower him. ⁴  Go out and do as you have proposed.’ 22:23 So now, look, the Lord has placed a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours; but the Lord has decreed disaster for you.”

Job 15:31

15:31 Let him not trust in what is worthless, ⁵ 

deceiving himself;

for worthlessness will be his reward. ⁶ 

Hosea 4:12

4:12 They consult their wooden idols,

and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle.

The wind of prostitution blows them astray;

they commit spiritual adultery ⁷  against their God.

Romans 1:20-22

1:20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people ⁸  are without excuse. 1:21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts ⁹  were darkened. 1:22 Although they claimed ¹⁰  to be wise, they became fools

Romans 1:28

1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, ¹¹  God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. ¹² 

Romans 1:2

1:2 This gospel ¹³  he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,

Romans 2:11

2:11 For there is no partiality with God.

Romans 2:2

2:2 Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth ¹⁴  against those who practice such things.

Romans 2:13

2:13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous. ¹⁵ 

Revelation 12:9

12:9 So ¹⁶  that huge dragon – the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world – was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him.

Revelation 13:14

13:14 and, by the signs he was permitted to perform on behalf of the beast, he deceived those who live on the earth. He told ¹⁷  those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who had been wounded by the sword, but still lived.

Revelation 18:23

18:23 Even the light from a lamp

will never shine in you again!

The voices of the bridegroom and his bride

will never be heard in you again.

For your merchants were the tycoons of the world,

because all the nations ¹⁸  were deceived by your magic spells! ¹⁹ 

Revelation 20:3

20:3 The angel ²⁰  then ²¹  threw him into the abyss and locked ²²  and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.)

[22:20]  ¹ tn Heb “and fall.”

[22:21]  ² tn Heb “the spirit.” The significance of the article prefixed to רוּחַ (ruakh) is uncertain, but it could contain a clue as to this spirit’s identity, especially when interpreted in light of v. 24. It is certainly possible, and probably even likely, that the article is used in a generic or dramatic sense and should be translated, “a spirit.” In the latter case it would show that this spirit was vivid and definite in the mind of Micaiah the storyteller. However, if one insists that the article indicates a well-known or universally known spirit, the following context provides a likely referent. Verse 24 tells how Zedekiah slapped Micaiah in the face and then asked sarcastically, “Which way did the spirit from the Lord (רוּחַ־יְהוָה, [ruakh-Yahweh], Heb “the spirit of the Lord”) go when he went from me to speak to you?” When the phrase “the spirit of the Lord” refers to the divine spirit (rather than the divine breath or mind, Isa 40:7, 13) elsewhere, the spirit energizes an individual or group for special tasks or moves one to prophesy. This raises the possibility that the deceiving spirit of vv. 20-23 is the same as the divine spirit mentioned by Zedekiah in v. 24. This would explain why the article is used on רוּחַ; he can be called “the spirit” because he is the well-known spirit who energizes the prophets.

[22:22]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:22]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text has two imperfects connected by וְגַם (vÿgam). These verbs could be translated as specific futures, “you will deceive and also you will prevail,” in which case the Lord is assuring the spirit of success on his mission. However, in a commissioning context (note the following imperatives) such as this, it is more likely that the imperfects are injunctive, in which case one could translate, “Deceive, and also overpower.”

[15:31]  ⁵ tn The word, although difficult in its form, is “vanity,” i.e., that which is worthless. E. Dhorme (Job, 224) thinks that the form שָׁוְא (shav’) conceals the word שִׁיאוֹ (shi’o, “his stature”). But Dhorme reworks most of the verse. He changes נִתְעָה (nit’ah, “deceived”) to נֵדַע (neda’, “we know”) to arrive at “we know that it is vanity.” The last two words of the verse are then moved to the next. The LXX has “let him not think that he shall endure, for his end shall be vanity.”

[15:31]  ⁶ tn This word is found in Job 20:18 with the sense of “trading.” It can mean the exchange of goods or the profit from them. Some commentators change תְמוּרָתוֹ (tÿmurato, “his reward”) because they wish to put it with the next verse as the LXX seems to have done (although the LXX does not represent this). Suggestions include תִּמֹרָתוֹ (timorato, “his palm tree”) and זְמֹרָתוֹ (zÿmorato, “his vine shoot”). A number of writers simply delete all of v. 31. H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 115) suggests the best reading (assuming one were going to make changes) would be, “Let him not trust in his stature, deceiving himself, for it is vanity.” And then put “his palm tree” with the next verse, he thinks that achieves the proper balance.

[4:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “adultery.” The adjective “spiritual” is supplied in the translation to clarify that apostasy is meant here.

[1:20]  ⁸ tn Grk “they”; the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:21]  ⁹ tn Grk “heart.”

[1:22]  ¹⁰ tn The participle φάσκοντες (faskonte") is used concessively here.

[1:28]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and just as they did not approve to have God in knowledge.”

[1:28]  ¹² tn Grk “the things that are improper.”

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “the gospel of God, which he promised.” Because of the length and complexity of this sentence in Greek, it was divided into shorter English sentences in keeping with contemporary English style. To indicate the referent of the relative pronoun (“which”), the word “gospel” was repeated at the beginning of v. 2.

[2:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “based on truth.”

[2:13]  ¹⁵ tn The Greek sentence expresses this contrast more succinctly than is possible in English. Grk “For not the hearers of the law are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be declared righteous.”

[12:9]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.

[13:14]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “earth, telling.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek.

[18:23]  ¹⁸ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[18:23]  ¹⁹ tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”

[20:3]  ²⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel introduced in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:3]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[20:3]  ²² tn Or “and shut.” While the lexical force of the term is closer to “shut,” it is acceptable to render the verb ἔκλεισεν (ekleisen) as “locked” here in view of the mention of the key in the previous verse.