OOPS KING JAMES DID IT AGAIN
Yes — there is a real translation issue behind what we grew up reading in the King James Translation.
The key point is that the King James translators generally used the English word “devils” where the Greek New Testament has the word daimonion (δαιμόνιον), which is normally understood as “demon.” The KJV actually never uses the English word “demon” in the New Testament. Sixty-two of the 63 occurrences of daimonion are rendered “devil” in the KJV. and this produced some unbiblical theology.
The important distinction:
There are two different Greek words:
διάβολος (diabolos) → “devil,” “slanderer,” and in the New Testament commonly referring to Satan
δαιμόνιον (daimonion) → demon, an evil/spiritual being
So, for example:
Matthew 8:31
The Greek speaks of daimonia — demons. The KJV says “devils.” Modern translations generally say “demons.” But in John 6:70, Jesus says of Judas: “one of you is a devil” There the Greek word is diabolos, NOT daimonion (demon). So “devil” is a much more accurate translation here.
What about capitalization? This is where I’d correct the claim you’ve heard. It isn’t really that King James “changed the translation by capitalizing Devils.” Capitalization in the KJV doesn’t correspond neatly to the distinction between Satan and demons. The more significant problem is that the KJV used the same English word, “devil/devils,” for two different Greek words. And because English usage has changed, this can be confusing to modern readers. Today, we’d naturally understand: one Devil (Satan) many demons → demonic unclean spirits. The KJV’s terminology can obscure that distinction. Interestingly, the NET Bible’s notes explicitly acknowledge this, saying that the KJV “translates both διάβολος and δαιμόνιον as ‘devil.’” So if what you heard was “the King James translators deliberately changed demons into devils and capitalized them”, that’s misleading. Produce some bad theology and Christedom. If what you heard was “the KJV’s translation of daimonion as ‘devils’ can obscure an important distinction between demons and the Devil”, yes, that’s substantially true.
10 places in the KJV where “devils” should more literally be understood as “demons,” and put the Greek, KJV, and modern translation side-by-side.
The KJV frequently translates δαίμων (daimōn) and δαιμόνιον (daimonion) as “devil/devils,” whereas in modern English “demon/demons” is much closer to what those words mean in these passages. By contrast, διάβολος (diabolos) is the Greek word ordinarily translated “devil” and is the word used for Satan.
Here are 10 particularly clear examples:
More literal sense
Matthew 8:31
“the devils besought him”
daimones (demons)
Matthew 9:33
“when the devil was cast out” daimonion (demon)
Matthew 10:8
“cast out devils” daimonia (demons)
Matthew 17:18
“Jesus rebuked the devil” daimonion (demon)
Mark 5:12
“Send us into the swine” — referring to the devils daimones (demons)
Mark 7:29
“the devil is gone out” daimonion (demon)
Mark 9:38 "casting out devils” daimonia (demons)
Mark 16:17 “they shall cast out devils” daimonia (demons)
Luke 8:2 “seven devils” daimonia (seven demons)
James 2:19 “the devils also believe”
daimonia (the demons) also believe
The underlying Greek in these examples is daimōn or daimonion, NOT diabolos. Lexicons specifically identify daimonion as an evil spirit/demon, and daimōn as a demon or evil supernatural spirit.
One of the clearest examples:
Matthew 17:18
The KJV says:
“And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him…”
But the Greek word there is δαιμόνιον (daimonion).
So, literally in modern terminology:
“Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him.”
That’s why virtually all modern translations say “demon” there rather than “devil.”
And Matthew 10:8 makes the distinction especially obvious KJV: “cast out devils”
Greek: δαιμόνια — daimonia - That’s plural demons.
It isn’t saying the apostles were going around casting Satan out of people. They were casting out demons.
In another study we are going to discuss what level of demons do we cast out and what caliber principality the LORD deals with because it simply is above oue paid grade.