1 Kings 22:21-22

22:21 Then a spirit ¹  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 ²  said, ‘Deceive and overpower him. ³  Go out and do as you have proposed.’

John 8:44

8:44 You people ⁴  are from ⁵  your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. ⁶  He ⁷  was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, ⁸  because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, ⁹  he speaks according to his own nature, ¹⁰  because he is a liar and the father of lies. ¹¹ 

John 8:1

8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ¹² 

John 4:6

4:6 Jacob’s well was there, so Jesus, since he was tired from the journey, sat right down beside ¹³  the well. It was about noon. ¹⁴ 

Revelation 12:9

12:9 So ¹⁵  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 ¹⁶  those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who had been wounded by the sword, but still lived.

Revelation 20:8

20:8 and will go out to deceive ¹⁷  the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, ¹⁸  to bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea. ¹⁹ 

[22:21]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:22]  ³ 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.”

[8:44]  ⁴ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.

[8:44]  ⁵ tn Many translations read “You are of your father the devil” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB) or “You belong to your father, the devil” (NIV), but the Greek preposition ἐκ (ek) emphasizes the idea of source or origin. Jesus said his opponents were the devil’s very offspring (a statement which would certainly infuriate them).

[8:44]  ⁶ tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”

[8:44]  ⁷ tn Grk “That one” (referring to the devil).

[8:44]  ⁸ tn Grk “he does not stand in the truth” (in the sense of maintaining, upholding, or accepting the validity of it).

[8:44]  ⁹ tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”

[8:44]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”

[8:44]  ¹¹ tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”

[8:1]  ¹² sn The Mount of Olives is a hill running north to south about 1.8 mi (3 km) long, lying east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. It was named for the large number of olive trees that grew on it.

[4:6]  ¹³ tn Grk “on (ἐπί, epi) the well.” There may have been a low stone rim encircling the well, or the reading of Ì⁶⁶ (“on the ground”) may be correct.

[4:6]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “the sixth hour.”

[12:9]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.

[13:14]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “earth, telling.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek.

[20:8]  ¹⁷ tn Or “mislead.”

[20:8]  ¹⁸ sn The battle with Gog and Magog is described in the OT in Ezek 38:1-39:20.

[20:8]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “of whom the number of them [is] like the sand of the sea” (an allusion to Isa 10:22).