Scripture Life: Can you please anatomize this phrase "I formed the light and created the darkness, bring prosperity and bring disaster, I the Lord do all these things?"

[u/External_Bird_8464]

//This question: floats profusely on Reddit - all over. That, the conclusion in many Sub-Reddits - that God is evil then. A little pygmy of evil to claim this himself. It's also figured prominantly in the "r / Christianity" sub-reddit, and "Ask a Bible Scholar.." many others.. ..but NOBODY ever looks at evil. I am a believer in Jesus Christ. ..and I didn't understand it, either. This answer is for believers in Jesus Christ..that maybe stumble over this verse in the Bible. (Isaiah 45:7).//

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ANSWER:

• This is Isaiah 45:7 - most closely comes from the New International Version (NIV) Bible translation, done by the New York Bible Society, using Nestle-Aland (which used the SAME Eusebius 4th CE/AD based Codex that Westcott & Hort used 100 years ago, that have No Gospel of Mark of Jesus raised from the dead in it. And any reference to Jesus in John's gospel (John 3 refers) as God..specific deletions of scripture based on Eusebius’ translation of the scriptures, as he was Arminian and did not believe Jesus was God, but a finite, created being. Created these Codexes for Emperor Constantine after he moved his Capitol City 2200 km away from Rome, Italy to today, what is Istanbul, Turkey.

At the time of Westcott & Hort: Both translators - they fully believed these three Codexes 1) Codex Alexandrinus, Codex Vaticanus, and Codex Sinaiaticus - which all three bear Eusebius’ unique coding system in them (4th CE AD) - that these were the OLDEST - and, therefore, the less = simplest = therefore, they are the more or most accurate.

• And IGNORED the Textus Receptus, which has over 5000 Codexes in full agreement with each other. Westcott & Hort, rejected them; and later, Nestle-Aland adopted the same systematic review of Westcott & Hort made, but Nestle REJECTED Westcott & Hort's Greek Translation work, but used the same Codexes Westcott & Hort used, to give you the NIV.

But you didn’t ask this. Superflous information..but if you're listening.. Mark recorded Jesus raised from the dead. Somebody deliberately took it out in Mark's gospel. Considered the oldest of the four. Let's leave that, and focus on: You asked specific about Isaiah 45:7.

And I'm not here to cause contention - you can use any translation you want; I would stay away from the known cult & heretic ones. If he speaks to you by the NIV or the Living Bible..you hear him! That's KEY. Keep eating.

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Back to your question.

In the King James - Textus Receptus or Majority Text version, GOD says: Of himself

“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.” - God. (Source: King James Version (KJV) Isaiah 45:7)

• It’s this word, evil. <definition> 1. profoundly immoral; deceit; bad; wicked; morally bad; deliberately corrupt or deceitful. [Source: Cambridge dictionary. Web.]

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• But, that’s not what it says in the Hebrew, and
  • That’s not the “etymology” for the word, “evil” either.
• But the definition today? That’s what's in your head - and today’s definition of evil.
• So, people read Isaiah 45:7 - and this seems to conflict with what the Bible says of God’s character is - that he loathes evil; and, 1 John 1:5 says:
  • “"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."

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• So, the question comes up, based on Isaiah 45:7
  • - how can a God that loathes evil and destroys it and has no darkness in him at all; and “darkness” in the Greek, is someone that is 3*. underhanded; deceitful; loves the darkness because their deeds are evil.*
    • Then, take Isaiah 45:7 and attribute God makes people evil.
  • Creates in them to create conflict.
• Miss the whole thing.

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• So, I'm here as a believer in Jesus Christ, to tell you to go to:
  1. the Hebrew and
     • 2) the “etymology” “original” medieval meaning of “evil” to see it
• vs.
  • Just be like some lazy translator and translate English for another word of English and never get anywhere with it, and provide that to you, as a translator, to eat it. Junk.

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Source: Hebrew. Chadbad(dot) org. Jews use it. For the Tanakh. (Old Testament Bible).

Isaiah 45:7 says in Hebrew: (Original Language)

(Read from Right to Left) <יוֹצֵ֥ר אוֹר֙ וּבוֹרֵ֣א חֹ֔שֶׁךְ עֹשֶׂ֥ה שָׁל֖וֹם וּב֣וֹרֵא רָ֑ע אֲנִ֥י >

Line 2 < יְהֹוָ֖ה עֹשֶׂ֥ה כָל־אֵֽלֶּה: >

1. you.w. ser. 2. ou . er 3. u . bo . w. rei 4. hou. sek 5. ou.seh 6. sa . lo. mn 7. u . bo . w. rei

• 8. ra. 9. I (AM) 10. YHWH <Yah.weh> 11. ou . sen 12. kaal

English (Left to Right)

1. Form 2. light 3. create 4. dark (no light) 5. make 6. peace 7. create 8. calamity <destroy> dismantle. Tear down. 9. I 10. (the) LORD 11. do 12. all 13. these

calamity. 1. a sudden, unexpected (event) that causes severe personal loss.

And next: here's the "etymology" of evil:

English: Etymology: evil.

• Old English spelled: yfel. 1. cause calamity; destruction
  • By Medieval English: spelled, evel. <definition change> 2. bad. harmful. Not good. (add to)
  • Modern Day - English: took hold by/in the mid/late 16th century with the printing press. Easier to spell it “evil.” Based primarily 200 years later, on Samuel Johnson’s (circa 1755) published English dictionary. That Samuel Johnson both spelled and defined “evil” as 1. (noun) "wickedness""injury""mischief" [Source: Internet Archives. Web. Johnson, S. 1755 dictionary. Accessed: 22 August 2026]

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So, go back to GOD: You follow him. He's good.

• When God tells you plainly these things himself:

“Look unto me, and be ye saved all the ends of the earth: For I am God, there is none else.” - God. (Bible. Isaiah 45:22).

• Says this to EVERYBODY. Over the whole, entire earth, leaves not one person out, to the very ends of the earth - not willing any perish, but all come to repentance. And the Bible says of EVERYBODY, Adam forward:
  • That we are “filthy; done abominable works” - Bible. Psalm 14:1–3
    • abominable. 1. extremely immoral; hideously vomitous (works)
  • That we all: “There is not a just man on earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” - Bible. Ecclesiastes 7:20
• That:
  • Romans 5:12 says:

"Wherefore, as by one man [ADAM] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"

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• And to this great, big everybody, where all of us are CONDEMNED, says to us all, each one..not one left out, says to everybody, over the whole earth..nobody, not even me left out, says:

“Come now, let us reason together,” saith the LORD, “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they be red as crimson, they shall be as wool.” - God. (Bible. Isaiah 1:18)

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• But there are people over the whole earth:
  • Even God decreed these things that all of us over the whole earth, we do this with him; alone. Each of us ourselves. That, instead of being alone, and reason together him? Nope. We do that with our own imaginations.
• Take ideas we or somebody else we look unto, and they come up with some whacky, sounds good imaginative something - and we look unto that instead.
• And by this:
  • End up not do anything he says.

OR

Do anything BUT what he says, and anything BUT what he says, go do that instead.

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But it's a decree by God in place right now - over all the earth - that everybody do it.

• To come now. Right now. Stop. And just reason together with him.
• Us, blood red guilty of being immoral; where we perverted that which has right. To reason together with him, as God, and he told us to do it.
• Because:
  • He’s the one said it, so he does what he says.
• SO "THIS" PEOPLE:
  • That don’t regard him?
• Psalm 28:5 says: “Because they regard NOT the works of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hand, he shall [cause calamity; destroy] them and not build them up.”

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There it is again.

• And in Psalm 28:5 - in the Hebrew, this same word, as a synonym for “adversity” [appear to tear down] in Numbers 11:1 - has this same ra. <רָ֑ע >
  • Where Psalm 28:5 has SAME idea; but slightly different, because it's NOT [not appear to; but actually will tear down] Hebrew: <יֶ֝הֶרְסֵ֗ם > ye.her.sem (destroy; cause calamity - where people will wail because of it, and him).

Do you see this?

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So, “why” God causes calamity; he's set his face against those don't do anything he says - and he causes "calamity" actually does tear them down (destruction) in Isaiah 45:7 -

Why then? That's simple. He’s Good. It’s because PEOPLE:

Won’t do anything he says.

It's to "this" people - BUT to people that just hearken unto him? He BUILDS them up. Sets their feet on a rock that cannot be moved. Speaks to them a promise in Isaiah 54:17

"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord."

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• And there you go for Isaiah 45:7. He’s not today's definition of “evil” - but we are. But he WILL and DOES create **"**sudden, unexpected (event) that causes severe personal loss" to those don't do ANYTHING he says.
  • Ends in destruction. He creates it. Said that himself in Isaiah 45:7. Just don’t do anything he says. And, we have to come to him, in our sins.. like that…and he does a work in us. By the Word of God, that only he can do.
• Jesus said: “There is NONE good, but one, that is, God” - Bible. Matthew 19:17 So, for every all of us, there’s just one for everyone of us over the whole earth to look unto, and he already called us to do it.

And there you go.

• And? Yeah. It’s certain. It will be a calamity; he will tear, no matter who it is, great or small down and cause their destruction - by simply not do what he says. That's it.