What does καταράομαι (kataráomai) mean in the Bible?
Kataraomai describes cursing or pronouncing a curse. Its five New Testament witnesses distinguish actions and speakers instead of making every use a model for believers.
Greek · G2672
καταράομαι
Kataraomai describes cursing or pronouncing a curse. Its five New Testament witnesses distinguish actions and speakers instead of making every use a model for believers.
Reading a lexicon entry
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Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
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καταράομαιG2672
Pronunciationkataráomai
What does καταράομαι (kataráomai) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for καταράομαι (G2672) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2672?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include curse (2), are cursed (1), we curse (1), You cursed (1).
Where does καταράομαι (kataráomai) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 25:41. Its strongest book concentrations include James (1), Luke (1), Mark (1), Matthew (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Kataraomai describes cursing or pronouncing a curse. Its five New Testament witnesses distinguish actions and speakers instead of making every use a model for believers. Jesus tells His hearers to bless those who curse them and pray for those who mistreat them. Paul likewise commands blessing rather than cursing persecutors. James exposes the contradiction of blessing the Lord while cursing people made in God's likeness.
Mark records Peter recalling Jesus' curse on the fig tree, and Matthew presents the Son of Man's judgment of those on His left. Those narrated and judgment settings cannot turn condemned human cursing into a faithful response to an enemy. The passages call believers away from retaliatory speech and toward mercy. They do not require someone facing harm to remain exposed, hide the wrongdoing or grant an abuser continued access in order to prove that blessing is sincere.
How the Bible Uses It
Five BSB verbal witnesses include cursing directed at disciples, a command not to curse, an indictment of contradictory speech, the fig-tree account and final judgment. The identity of the speaker and the force of the sentence distinguish their roles.
- Luke.6.28
Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Jesus joins blessing opponents to prayer for mistreaters within His teaching on enemy love and the Father's mercy, rather than approving their harm.
- Rom.12.14
Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse.
The direct prohibition of cursing belongs to a sequence about peace, refusing revenge and feeding an enemy who needs food.
- Jas.3.9
With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.
James names people as made in God's likeness and condemns a mouth that joins worship with contemptuous cursing of them.
- Mark.11.21
Peter remembered it and said, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree You cursed has withered.”
Peter recalls Jesus' words to the fig tree; the wider unit includes temple action, faith, prayer and forgiveness rather than a technique to harm opponents.
- Matt.25.41
Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
The Son of Man pronounces judgment in the separation scene, which also names concrete failures to care for those in need.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itcurse2×Luke 6:28, Romans 12:14
are cursed1×Matthew 25:41
we curse1×James 3:9
You cursed1×Mark 11:21
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 25:41κατηραμένοιtoare cursedVerb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Vocative Masculine PluralMark 11:21κατηράσωtoYou cursedVerb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 2nd Person SingularLuke 6:28καταρωμένουςtocurseVerb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Masculine PluralRomans 12:14καταρᾶσθεtocurseVerb - Present Imperative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person PluralJames 3:9καταρώμεθαtowe curseVerb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 1st Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 25:41
Aligned rows5
Books represented5
Matthew1Mark1Luke1Romans1James1
Source forms
καταρᾶσθε1xkatarastheRomans 12:14
καταρώμεθα1xkatarōmethaJames 3:9
καταρωμένους1xkatarōmenousLuke 6:28
κατηραμένοι1xkatēramenoiMatthew 25:41
κατηράσω1xkatērasōMark 11:21
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 2nd Person Singular1xMark 11:21
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Vocative Masculine Plural1xMatthew 25:41
Verb - Present Imperative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Plural1xRomans 12:14
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 1st Person Plural1xJames 3:9
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Masculine Plural1xLuke 6:28
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Refuse degrading and retaliatory speech while continuing to seek truthful accountability and protection for harmed people.
- Never make blessing a demand that a vulnerable person grant continued access to someone who mistreats them.
Avoid claiming...
- These passages do not authorize personal curses or a formula for making harm happen to an opponent.
- Praying for a mistreater cannot prove that the mistreatment is harmless or require suppressing an honest report.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To curse someone by invoking divine judgment or condemnation; opposite of blessing.
Strong'sG2672
Lexical occurrences5 versesGreek text appearances6 timesWord forms3 forms5 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkLuke 6:27-36Source Gloss
to execrate; by analogy, to doom
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To curse someone by invoking divine judgment or condemnation; opposite of blessing.
(κατάρα), [in LXX chiefly for קָלַל pi. ;] to curse: with accusative, Mrk.11:21; opposite to εὐλογέω, Luk.6:26, Rom.12:14, Jas.3:9; pass. pf. ptcp., accursed, under a curse (see M, Pr., 221): Mat.25:41.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 5:44Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Accusative Plural Masculine
καταρωμένουςkatarwmenouv
I curse
Read verseMatthew 25:41Verb Perfect Passive Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
κατηραμένοι,kathramenoi
I curse
Read verseMark 11:21Verb Second Person Singular Aorist Middle Deponent Indicative
κατηράσωkathrasw
I curse
Read verseLuke 6:28Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Accusative Plural Masculine
καταρωμένουςkatarwmenouv
I curse
Read verseRomans 12:14Verb Second Person Plural Present Middle or Passive Deponent Imperative
καταρᾶσθε.katarasqe
I curse
Read verseJames 3:9Verb First Person Plural Present Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
καταρώμεθαkatarwmeqa
I curse
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.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups3Aligned forms5TensesPerfect, Aorist, PresentVoicesPassive, Middle
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participleverbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality2×
Perfect PassiveMatt 25:411×
Present MiddleLuke 6:281×
Indicativestates a fact or reality2×
Aorist MiddleMark 11:211×
Present MiddleJas 3:91×
Imperativecommand or strong request1×
Present MiddleRom 12:141×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present3aorist1perfect1
Voice
middle4passive1
Mood
indicative2participle2imperative1
NT Occurrences
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Active imperative and prohibition regarding cursing others in ethical teaching
Jesus' curse upon the fig tree resulting in its withering and death
Passive perfect participle describing those doomed to eternal separation from God
Moral inconsistency of blessing God while cursing humans made in His image
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
καταράομαι is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
James makes the problem of cursing sharper by naming whom the tongue attacks. The people cursed have been made in God's likeness, while the same mouth claims to bless the Lord and Father. The contradiction cannot be repaired by adding religious language to contempt. Romans supplies a practical alternative: bless persecutors, resist revenge and respond to an enemy's hunger with food.
Its call to peace acknowledges what is possible on the believer's part rather than pretending that one person controls every relationship. Mark's fig-tree account and Matthew's judgment scene must retain Jesus' particular role and the surrounding teaching. They do not overturn the instructions governing the disciples' own speech. A community can name harm, seek truthful accountability and protect people while refusing curses.
Mercy should shape its response without being used to give continued access to someone who is harming another person.
Anchor passage
Jas.3.9
Doctrinal connections
- James grounds the dignity of people being addressed in their creation in God's likeness.
- Jesus joins blessing and prayer for mistreaters to the mercy shown by the heavenly Father.
- Paul directs believers to leave vengeance to God rather than repay evil with evil.
- Romans connects enemy care with concrete provision of food and drink instead of retaliatory speech.
- Mark keeps the fig-tree event within Jesus' temple action and subsequent teaching on faith, prayer and forgiveness.
- Matthew assigns the separation and judgment to the Son of Man and names neglected care for people in need.
Kataraomai appears in indicative, imperative and participial forms, including a description of those under a curse. These grammatical roles distinguish report, command and description; voice alone cannot make a speaker's action right or transfer divine authority to a reader.
From Old to New Testament
Genesis 1:26-31 supplies the creation setting behind James' appeal to God's likeness. Proverbs 25:21-22 instructs provision for an enemy and is quoted in Romans 12. These connections ground dignity and nonretaliatory care without adding Hebrew passages to the five Greek verb witnesses.