1769 King James
Reader comment on item: Is Allah God? - Continued
in response to reader comment: Lies, and damned lies

Submitted by jennifer solis (United States), Apr 19, 2008 at 02:32

King James Version - A.D. 1769 -

"I form the light, and created darkness; I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things."

Well, maybe it's not such a good idea to rely on the old King James version for everything - after all, it was created in 1611 by the Church of England.

NKJV (New King James Version) -

"I form the light, and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things."

The Hebrew word for "evil" here is "ra' " - in this context it is a masculine noun, meaning distress, misery, injury, calamity.

The Bible does indeed reveal that God administers "calamity", or punishment. God did not, and does not, create "evil" in the context of today's usage of the word.

Other Biblical references -

NLT (New Living Translation) -

"I am the one who creates the light and makes the darkness. I am the one who sends good times and bad times. I, the Lord, am the one who does these things."

NIV (New International Version) -

"I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things."

ESV (English Standard Version) -

"I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things."

RVR (Reina-Valera) -

"Que formo la luz y creo las tinieblas, que hago la paz y creo la adversidad. Yo Jehova soy el que hago todo esto."

And the "mac-daddy" of them all, the best translation of the Hebrew and Greek, the NASB -

"The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these."

Sometimes it pays to do your homework.

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