And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
Parallel translations
- WEB And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.
- KJV And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
- NKJV And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
- NASB No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
- NLT But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
This deception is no surprise, since even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Evil often appears attractive and spiritual.
Overview
Paul explains the root of such counterfeiting: Satan himself masquerades as something good and luminous. False apostles merely follow their master's pattern. The verse alerts believers that the most dangerous error often comes dressed in spiritual brightness, demanding vigilant testing of every teaching against God's truth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Gal 1:8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse!
- 2 Cor 2:11in order that Satan should not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
- 2 Cor 11:3I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.
- Rev 12:9And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
- Matt 4:1–10Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
- Gen 3:1–5Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In Christ all God's promises are 'Yes and Amen'; though rich, he became poor to make us rich, and in him God reconciles the world, making us new creations.
How 2 Corinthians 11:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.