I form the light, and create darkness:
Isaiah 45:7 (KJV)
I make peace, and create evil:
I the LORD do all these things.
I form light and create darkness;
Isaiah 45:7 (ESV)
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the LORD, who does all these things.
Did God create evil? Specifically, moral evil. Many who use the KJV, and some other translations, would answer yes to that question. And it certainly seems that the KJV makes that claim.
The context of this verse is making the claim that God is supreme. There is none other like him. Zoroastrianism, the religion of Persia, held to dualism. There was a good god and an evil god, and they were at war. But, unlike dualistic religions, God claims to be Lord over all.
The word translated as peace in the KJV or well-being in the ESV is shalom. This word is most often translated as peace, but also as “welfare, prosperity, and health.” It is a very positive word referring to a good state of being.
The word translated as evil or calamity is ra‘. This word is most often translated as evil. So, you could indeed take this to read that God created moral evil. But ra‘ can also be translated as “mischief, trouble, disaster, or calamity.”
Given the context, disaster or calamity seems to fit better than evil, at least evil in the moral sense. Ra‘ is contrasted with shalom. As the ESV says, it is calamity versus well-being. Unlike dualism, God is responsible for all that happens, good or bad.
So, did God create moral evil? This verse does not make that claim. 1 John 1:5 tells us that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” How could one in whom there is no darkness be responsible for moral evil?
So, who is responsible for moral evil? I need to look no further than myself. I was created as a moral creature. And when I make poor moral choices because of the darkness within me, evil is the result.
