Lexical Summary
paralogizomai: To deceive, to delude, to mislead by false reasoning
Original Word: παραλογίζομαι
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: paralogizomai
Pronunciation: pah-rah-loh-GHEE-zoh-my
Phonetic Spelling: (par-al-og-id'-zom-ahee)
KJV: beguile, deceive
NASB: delude
Word Origin: [from G3844 (παρά - than) and G3049 (λογίζομαι - credited)]
1. to misreckon, i.e. delude
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
beguile, deceive.
From para and logizomai; to misreckon, i.e. Delude -- beguile, deceive.
see GREEK para
see GREEK logizomai
HELPS Word-studies
3884 paralogízomai (from 3844 /pará, "contrary when compared side-by-side" and 3049 /logízomai, "to reason") – properly, to reason contrary to truth, in a misleading (erroneous) way.
3884 /paralogízomai ("deceive close-beside") operates by distorted reasoning – using what seems "plausible" but later lets the person down ("disappoints").
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
para and
logizomaiDefinitionto miscalculate, to reason falsely
NASB Translationdelude (2).
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 3884: παραλογίζομαιπαραλογίζομαι; (see
παρά, IV. 2);
a. to reckon wrong, miscount: Demosthenes, p. 822, 25; 1037, 15.
b. to cheat by false reckoning (Aeschines, Aristotle); to deceive by false reasoning (joined to ἐξαπαταν, Epictetus diss. 2, 20, 7); hence,
c. universally, to deceive, delude, circumvent: τινα, Colossians 2:4; James 1:22 (the Sept. several times for רִמָּה).
Topical Lexicon
Definition and Theological Nuance Strong’s Greek 3884 describes the calculated act of leading someone into a false mental reckoning. It is not mere ignorance but deliberate mis-reasoning—logic twisted just enough to appear sound while aiming to displace trust in God’s revealed truth. The word therefore straddles both the intellectual and moral realms, exposing how error often arrives clothed in plausibility.
Usage in the New Testament
The verb surfaces only twice, yet in two strategic arenas of deception:
• Colossians 2:4 guards the church from external sophistry.
• James 1:22 unmasks internal self-delusion.
Colossians 2:4 – The Danger of External Intellectual Seduction
“I say this so that no one will deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.”
Paul writes from prison to believers who are being courted by teachers mixing Christ with philosophy, ascetic ritual, and proto-gnostic speculations. By choosing the verb 3884, he highlights the subtlety of the threat: arguments that sound refined, culturally respectable, even spiritually impressive. The antidote he supplies in the surrounding verses is a fresh vision of Christ’s supremacy and the believer’s completeness in Him (Colossians 2:3, 2:9-10). Sound Christology, not anti-intellectualism, is Paul’s safeguard against intellectual deceit.
James 1:22 – The Peril of Internal Spiritual Self-Deception
“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
James transfers the verb from false teachers to the false security lurking in the heart. A listener who nods at Scripture but postpones obedience performs a mental slight-of-hand on his own soul, congratulating himself for piety he has not practiced. Unlike Colossians, the threat is not outside rhetoric but inside rationalization. The remedy is immediate obedience that mirrors the implanted word (James 1:21, 1:25).
Relationship to Old Testament Concepts
The Old Testament repeatedly warns against “lying lips,” “smooth speech,” and the heart that “flatters itself” (Proverbs 6:12; Psalm 36:2). The New Testament verb gathers these strands into a focused warning: a mind can be swayed by the sweet talk of others or by the sweet talk of its own excuses. Both forms violate the first commandment by shifting confidence away from the Lord.
Historical Background
In the Greco-Roman world, rhetoric was prized as social capital. Philosophers such as the Sophists trained students to win crowds with polished reasoning regardless of truth. Early Christians therefore faced a culture where eloquence was admired more than accuracy. Against this backdrop, the apostolic writers employ 3884 to expose the currency of counterfeit logic and to elevate the Word of God as the ultimate criterion.
Doctrinal Implications
1. The sufficiency of Scripture: every attempt to supplement or supplant biblical authority places believers at risk of intellectual deception.
2. The necessity of obedience: doctrine is preserved not only by right thinking but by right living; practice tests persuasion.
3. The perseverance of the saints: true believers, indwelt by the Spirit of truth, possess both the desire and power to resist deceptive reasoning (1 John 2:20-27).
Practical Ministry Application
• Preaching should unveil the beauty and fullness of Christ, the best preventative against alluring error.
• Discipleship must unite hearing and doing—cultivating habits that close the gap between knowledge and action.
• Apologetics ought to expose the hidden premises of false arguments, replacing them with the consistent logic of Scripture.
• Counseling can address self-talk that justifies sin, reminding believers that self-deceit is as perilous as external heresy.
Connections with Other New Testament Terms
3884 sits alongside words like planē (“wandering,” Hebrews 3:13) and apataō (“to cheat,” Ephesians 5:6). Together they form a family of concepts depicting deception’s stages: attraction, persuasion, mis-reckoning, and moral drift. Recognizing the nuance of each term sharpens pastoral diagnosis and response.
Exemplar Passages for Teaching and Preaching
• Genesis 3:1-6—Eve’s dialogue with the serpent shows the first “fine-sounding argument.”
• Matthew 4:1-11—Jesus counters deceptive misuse of Scripture with Scripture rightly applied.
• Acts 17:11—The Bereans model discernment by testing new teaching against the written word.
• 2 Corinthians 11:3—Paul fears that, “as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning,” minds may be led astray from “the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”
Summary
Strong’s 3884 spotlights the razor’s edge where thought and faith meet. Whether issuing from persuasive teachers or from the mirror of one’s own heart, deception gains ground when Christ’s supremacy is diminished and obedience is delayed. The church overcomes by enthroning the Lord Jesus in doctrine and in daily practice, refusing every argument—however eloquent—that would count less than everything in Him.
Forms and Transliterations
παραλογιζηται παραλογίζηται παραλογιζομενοι παραλογιζόμενοι παράλυσιν παρελογίσαντό παρελογίσασθέ παρελογίσατο παρελογίσατό παρελογίσω paralogizetai paralogizētai paralogízetai paralogízētai paralogizomenoi paralogizómenoi
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