According to
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Kata is a high-frequency Greek preposition whose force depends on its grammatical object and context. It may express according to, in keeping with, against, down, throughout, in relation to, or by a distributed pattern.
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Full entry for κατά (G2596) · Open the biblical lexicon
Kata is a high-frequency Greek preposition whose force depends on its grammatical object and context. It may express according to, in keeping with, against, down, throughout, in relation to, or by a distributed pattern.
The BSB source-word alignment has 473 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include according to (63), vvv (52), against (45), in (41), by (38).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 1:20. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (90), Romans (50), Luke (43), Hebrews (41).
Kata is a high-frequency Greek preposition whose force depends on its grammatical object and context. It may express according to, in keeping with, against, down, throughout, in relation to, or by a distributed pattern. In selected theological passages, it marks a governing relation: Christ is descended from David according to the flesh, believers walk not according to flesh but according to the Spirit, Christ died according to the Scriptures, former life followed the world's pattern, and empty deception follows human tradition rather than Christ.
These examples are important, but they do not turn kata into a theological keyword with one fixed meaning. Teachers must identify the case, object, clause, and argument before deciding whether the phrase expresses standard, relation, opposition, direction, extent, or distribution.
Kata serves many grammatical relations. These representative witnesses show it marking descent, moral pattern, scriptural conformity, former worldly alignment, the basis of deceptive teaching, and a changed way of regarding people.
Regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh,
In Paul's gospel summary, kata relates the Son's human descent to David without exhausting what the letter says about His identity.
So that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
The paired phrases mark contrasting governing patterns: life directed by flesh and life directed by the Spirit.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
Kata connects Christ's saving death with the Scriptures within the apostolic gospel Paul received and delivered.
In which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.
The prepositional relations describe the former walk as patterned by the age of this world and its hostile ruler.
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.
Paul contrasts teaching ordered by human tradition and worldly elements with teaching governed by Christ.
So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
Paul rejects a merely flesh-governed evaluation of people in light of Christ's death, resurrection, and new creation.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. according to
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 481 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
down from, against, according to, throughout, during
Read versedown from, against, according to, throughout, during
Read versedown from, against, according to, throughout, during
Read versedown from, against, according to, throughout, during
Read versedown from, against, according to, throughout, during
Read versedown from, against, according to, throughout, during
Read versedown from, against, according to, throughout, during
Read versedown from, against, according to, throughout, during
Read versedown from, against, according to, throughout, during
Read versedown from, against, according to, throughout, during
Read versedown from, against, according to, throughout, during
Read versedown from, against, according to, throughout, during
Read versedown from, against, according to, throughout, during
Read versedown from, against, according to, throughout, during
Read versedown from, against, according to, throughout, during
Read versedown from, against, according to, throughout, during
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 1 case and number pattern. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Kata rarely deserves a sermon by itself, yet it often carries an important grammatical relation. Romans 1 uses it to relate the Son to Davidic descent according to the flesh, while Romans 8 contrasts walking according to flesh with walking according to the Spirit. First Corinthians 15 ties the received gospel to the Scriptures. Ephesians 2 and Colossians 2 expose patterns governed by the world, hostile power, human tradition, and elemental principles rather than Christ.
Second Corinthians 5 rejects evaluating people according to the flesh in light of new creation. The preposition helps identify these relations, but the nouns, cases, verbs, and larger arguments supply the doctrine. Faithful teaching therefore explains the phrase as a whole and resists making every kata construction mean moral conformity.
Rom.8.4
Kata changes force with case, object, verb, and idiom. With the accusative it commonly expresses standard, relation, distribution, or extent; with the genitive it may express movement down from or opposition. English translations often render the relation naturally rather than with a visible equivalent of according to.
The Greek Old Testament and New Testament use kata across ordinary spatial, distributive, relational, and oppositional constructions. In theological passages, it can help express conformity to Scripture, life directed by flesh or Spirit, and evaluation ordered by a governing reference. Those themes arise from the full clauses and the canon's teaching, not from the preposition in isolation.