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Summary
- No verse calls Satan the author of confusion. The phrase comes from 1 Corinthians 14:33 in the King James Version: “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.”
- The words “the author” are printed in italics in the King James Version because the translators supplied them; the Greek says God is not “of confusion” but “of peace.”
- Paul wrote the verse about orderly worship in Corinth, where tongues and prophecy were to be spoken in turn, and ended the chapter, “all things should be done decently and in order.”
- James 3:15–16 uses the same Greek word, akatastasia, for the “confusion” that follows wisdom which is “earthly, sensual, devilish.”
- Scripture calls the devil “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44) and “the deceiver of the whole world” (Revelation 12:9).
- In Isaiah 19:14, the only ESV use of “a spirit of confusion,” it is God who sends it on Egypt.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations from the King James Version (1 Corinthians 14:33; James 3:15–16; Isaiah 19:14; Luke 21:9), the English Standard Version (1 Corinthians 14:27, 29, 31–33, 40; James 1:5; 3:17; 4:7; Genesis 3:13; 11:9; Deuteronomy 28:20; Isaiah 19:14; John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 11:14; Revelation 12:9; Matthew 13:19; 1 John 4:1; Ephesians 6:11) and the New International Version (1 Corinthians 14:33; Isaiah 19:14).
- Blue Letter Bible, 1 Corinthians 14 (KJV) with Strong’s numbers, showing “the author” as supplied italic text. https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/1co/14/33/t_conc_1076033
- Blue Letter Bible, Strong’s G181, akatastasia. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g181/kjv/tr/0-1/
- “King James Version,” Wikipedia, on the italic printing of supplied words. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_James_Version
- John Chrysostom, Homilies on First Corinthians, Homily 29 and Homily 36, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, first series, vol. 12. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/220129.htm and https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/220136.htm
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 395. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P1C.HTM
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2851–2852. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__PAC.HTM
- John of Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, book 2, chapter 4, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol. 9. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/33042.htm
- Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 19. https://www.opc.org/lc.html
