What does καταφρονέω (kataphronéō) mean in the Bible?
καταφρονέω (kataphronéō): Contempt expressed through dismissive thinking; to regard someone as worthless or beneath consideration
Greek · G2706
καταφρονέω
To despise
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καταφρονέω G2706
Pronunciation kataphronéō
What does καταφρονέω (kataphronéō) mean in the Bible?
καταφρονέω (kataphronéō): Contempt expressed through dismissive thinking; to regard someone as worthless or beneath consideration
Full entry for καταφρονέω (G2706) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2706?
The BSB source-word alignment has 9 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include despise (4), do you despise (1), do you disregard (1), scorning (1), should not show disrespect (1).
Where does καταφρονέω (kataphronéō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 6:24. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Timothy (2), Matthew (2), 1 Corinthians (1), 2 Peter (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It despise 4× Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13, 1 Timothy 4:12, 2 Peter 2:10
do you despise 1× 1 Corinthians 11:22
do you disregard 1× Romans 2:4
scorning 1× Hebrews 12:2
should not show disrespect 1× 1 Timothy 6:2
you do not look down on 1× Matthew 18:10
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 6:24 καταφρονήσει to despise Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 18:10 καταφρονήσητε to you do not look down on Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural Luke 16:13 καταφρονήσει to despise Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Romans 2:4 καταφρονεῖς to do you disregard Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular 1 Corinthians 11:22 καταφρονεῖτε to do you despise Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural 1 Timothy 4:12 καταφρονείτω to despise Verb - Present Imperative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1 Timothy 6:2 καταφρονείτωσαν to should not show disrespect Verb - Present Imperative Active - 3rd Person Plural Hebrews 12:2 καταφρονήσας to scorning Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 2 Peter 2:10 καταφρονοῦντας to despise Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 6:24
Aligned rows 9
Books represented 7
Matthew 2 Luke 1 Romans 1 1 Corinthians 1 1 Timothy 2 Hebrews 1 2 Peter 1
Source forms
καταφρονήσει 2x kataphronēsei Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13
καταφρονεῖς 1x kataphroneis Romans 2:4
καταφρονεῖτε 1x kataphroneite 1 Corinthians 11:22
καταφρονείτω 1x kataphroneitō 1 Timothy 4:12
καταφρονείτωσαν 1x kataphroneitōsan 1 Timothy 6:2
καταφρονήσας 1x kataphronēsas Hebrews 12:2
καταφρονήσητε 1x kataphronēsēte Matthew 18:10
καταφρονοῦντας 1x kataphronountas 2 Peter 2:10
Parsing patterns
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 2x Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x Hebrews 12:2
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural 1x Matthew 18:10
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x 1 Timothy 6:2
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x 1 Timothy 4:12
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural 1x 1 Corinthians 11:22
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular 1x Romans 2:4
Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Plural 1x 2 Peter 2:10
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Contempt expressed through dismissive thinking; to regard someone as worthless or beneath consideration
Strong's G2706
Lexical occurrences 9 verses Greek text appearances 9 times Word forms 4 forms 9 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Matthew 6:24 Source Gloss
to despise
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
9 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 6:24 Verb Third Person Singular Future Active Indicative
καταφρονήσει. katafronhsei
I despise, scorn
Read verse Matthew 18:10 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Subjunctive
καταφρονήσητε katafronhshte
I despise, scorn
Read verse Luke 16:13 Verb Third Person Singular Future Active Indicative
καταφρονήσει. katafronhsei
I despise, scorn
Read verse Romans 2:4 Verb Second Person Singular Present Active Indicative
καταφρονεῖς, katafroneiv
I despise, scorn
Read verse 1 Corinthians 11:22 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Indicative
καταφρονεῖτε, katafroneite
I despise, scorn
Read verse 1 Timothy 4:12 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Imperative
καταφρονείτω, katafroneitw
I despise, scorn
Read verse 1 Timothy 6:2 Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Imperative
καταφρονείτωσαν, katafroneitwsan
I despise, scorn
Read verse Hebrews 12:2 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
καταφρονήσας, katafronhsav
I despise, scorn
Read verse 2 Peter 2:10 Verb Present Active Participle Accusative Plural Masculine
καταφρονοῦντας. katafronountav
I despise, scorn
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 groups 4 Aligned forms 9 Tenses Future, Aorist, Present Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 4×
Future Active Matt 6:24 · Luke 16:13 2×
Present Active Rom 2:4 · 1 Cor 11:22 2×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 1×
Aorist Active Matt 18:10 1×
Imperative command or strong request 2×
Present Active 1 Tim 4:12 · 1 Tim 6:2 2×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 2×
Aorist Active Heb 12:2 1×
Present Active 2 Pet 2:10 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 9 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 5 aorist 2 future 2
Voice
active 9
Mood
indicative 4 imperative 2 participle 2 subjunctive 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 6:24 καταφρονήσει future active indicative prospective Matthew 18:10 καταφρονήσητε aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Luke 16:13 καταφρονήσει future active indicative prospective Romans 2:4 καταφρονεῖς present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 11:22 καταφρονεῖτε present active indicative ongoing 1 Timothy 4:12 καταφρονείτω present active imperative imperative 1 Timothy 6:2 καταφρονείτωσαν present active imperative imperative Hebrews 12:2 καταφρονήσας aorist active participle participle 2 Peter 2:10 καταφρονοῦντας present active participle participle
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
to hate or regard with contempt, contrasted with love in ethical choice
to show contempt for the church and its members through disrespectful behavior
to regard someone as unworthy or inferior due to youth or perceived lack of authority
to treat with scorn and regard as shameful, describing Christ's attitude toward crucifixion
to show bold contempt and disregard for authority and divine majesty
Showing 5 selected witnesses from 9 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
καταφρονέω is built from these roots:
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.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain