What does καταφρονέω (kataphronéō) mean in the Bible?
G2706 means to despise, disregard, or think little of someone or something. 10, Jesus warns disciples not to look down on any of the little ones.
Greek · G2706
καταφρονέω
To despise
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καταφρονέωG2706
Pronunciationkataphronéō
What does καταφρονέω (kataphronéō) mean in the Bible?
G2706 means to despise, disregard, or think little of someone or something. 10, Jesus warns disciples not to look down on any of the little ones.
Reader summary
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).
What This Word Actually Means
G2706 means to despise, disregard, or think little of someone or something. In Matt. 18. 10, Jesus warns disciples not to look down on any of the little ones. In Rom. 2. 4, Paul asks whether a judging person disregards God's rich kindness, tolerance, and patience that lead toward repentance. In 1Cor. 11. 22, wealthy diners despise God's church by humiliating those who have nothing.
G2706 opens teaching on contempt, status, vulnerable disciples, divided service between God and money, and kindness received as a summons to repent. It does not require deference to abusive authority, silence critique, or make age and poverty the only forms of vulnerability.
How the Bible Uses It
G2706 describes contempt toward little ones, youth, poorer believers, masters, authority, God's kindness, the shame of the cross, and one master when allegiance is divided. Object and moral setting determine whether disregard is sinful or shame is rightly scorned.
- Matt.18.10
See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.
Jesus forbids looking down on the little ones and grounds their dignity in the Father's heavenly attention.
- Rom.2.4
Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
A self-assured judge can disregard the divine kindness and patience intended to lead to repentance.
- 1Cor.11.22
Don’t you have your own homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? No, I will not!
Meal practices that humiliate people with nothing amount to despising the church of God.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itdespise4×Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13, 1 Timothy 4:12, 2 Peter 2:10
do you despise1×1 Corinthians 11:22
do you disregard1×Romans 2:4
scorning1×Hebrews 12:2
should not show disrespect1×1 Timothy 6:2
you do not look down on1×Matthew 18:10
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 6:24καταφρονήσειtodespiseVerb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularMatthew 18:10καταφρονήσητεtoyou do not look down onVerb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person PluralLuke 16:13καταφρονήσειtodespiseVerb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularRomans 2:4καταφρονεῖςtodo you disregardVerb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular1 Corinthians 11:22καταφρονεῖτεtodo you despiseVerb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural1 Timothy 4:12καταφρονείτωtodespiseVerb - Present Imperative Active - 3rd Person Singular1 Timothy 6:2καταφρονείτωσανtoshould not show disrespectVerb - Present Imperative Active - 3rd Person PluralHebrews 12:2καταφρονήσαςtoscorningVerb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular2 Peter 2:10καταφρονοῦνταςtodespiseVerb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 6:24
Aligned rows9
Books represented7
Matthew2Luke1Romans11 Corinthians11 Timothy2Hebrews12 Peter1
Source forms
καταφρονήσει2xkataphronēseiMatthew 6:24, Luke 16:13
καταφρονεῖς1xkataphroneisRomans 2:4
καταφρονεῖτε1xkataphroneite1 Corinthians 11:22
καταφρονείτω1xkataphroneitō1 Timothy 4:12
καταφρονείτωσαν1xkataphroneitōsan1 Timothy 6:2
καταφρονήσας1xkataphronēsasHebrews 12:2
καταφρονήσητε1xkataphronēsēteMatthew 18:10
καταφρονοῦντας1xkataphronountas2 Peter 2:10
Parsing patterns
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular2xMatthew 6:24, Luke 16:13
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular1xHebrews 12:2
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural1xMatthew 18:10
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 3rd Person Plural1x1 Timothy 6:2
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 3rd Person Singular1x1 Timothy 4:12
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural1x1 Corinthians 11:22
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular1xRomans 2:4
Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Plural1x2 Peter 2:10
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not use respect language to silence reports of abuse, financial wrongdoing, unsafe practice, or doctrinal error.
- Do not assume that calling someone a little one permits paternalism or removes that person's agency.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that G2706 forbids all criticism, resistance, boundaries, or refusal toward a harmful authority.
- Do not claim that Jesus scorned people at the cross; He scorned the shame imposed on Him.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Contempt expressed through dismissive thinking; to regard someone as worthless or beneath consideration
Strong'sG2706
Lexical occurrences9 versesGreek text appearances9 timesWord forms4 forms9 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkMatthew 6:24Source Gloss
to despise
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek 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 6:24Verb Third Person Singular Future Active Indicative
καταφρονήσει.katafronhsei
I despise, scorn
Read verseMatthew 18:10Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Subjunctive
καταφρονήσητεkatafronhshte
I despise, scorn
Read verseLuke 16:13Verb Third Person Singular Future Active Indicative
καταφρονήσει.katafronhsei
I despise, scorn
Read verseRomans 2:4Verb Second Person Singular Present Active Indicative
καταφρονεῖς,katafroneiv
I despise, scorn
Read verse1 Corinthians 11:22Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Indicative
καταφρονεῖτε,katafroneite
I despise, scorn
Read verse1 Timothy 4:12Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Imperative
καταφρονείτω,katafroneitw
I despise, scorn
Read verse1 Timothy 6:2Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Imperative
καταφρονείτωσαν,katafroneitwsan
I despise, scorn
Read verseHebrews 12:2Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
καταφρονήσας,katafronhsav
I despise, scorn
Read verse2 Peter 2:10Verb 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 groups4Aligned forms9TensesFuture, Aorist, PresentVoicesActive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicativestates a fact or reality4×
Future ActiveMatt 6:24 · Luke 16:132×
Present ActiveRom 2:4 · 1 Cor 11:222×
Subjunctivepossibility, probability, or purpose1×
Aorist ActiveMatt 18:101×
Imperativecommand or strong request2×
Present Active1 Tim 4:12 · 1 Tim 6:22×
Participleverbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality2×
Aorist ActiveHeb 12:21×
Present Active2 Pet 2:101×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 9 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present5aorist2future2
Voice
active9
Mood
indicative4imperative2participle2subjunctive1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 6:24καταφρονήσειfuture active indicativeprospectiveMatthew 18:10καταφρονήσητεaorist active subjunctivesubjunctiveLuke 16:13καταφρονήσειfuture active indicativeprospectiveRomans 2:4καταφρονεῖςpresent active indicativeongoing1 Corinthians 11:22καταφρονεῖτεpresent active indicativeongoing1 Timothy 4:12καταφρονείτωpresent active imperativeimperative1 Timothy 6:2καταφρονείτωσανpresent active imperativeimperativeHebrews 12:2καταφρονήσαςaorist active participleparticiple2 Peter 2:10καταφρονοῦνταςpresent active participleparticiple
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.
For the Preacher and Teacher
G2706 exposes contempt as more than an attitude. In Matthew, it threatens little ones whose dignity is guarded before the Father. In Corinth, contempt takes the form of meal arrangements where some feast and others are humiliated. Paul says this treatment despises the church itself; social practice reveals theological judgment. Romans locates contempt in the moralist who receives God's patience while judging another and fails to recognize kindness as an invitation to personal repentance.
Jesus, by contrast, scorns the cross's shame, refusing to accept the world's degrading verdict while enduring suffering for the joy set before Him. Faithful application notices seating, food, voice, access, age, wealth, and credibility. It honors vulnerable people and receives correction from them. Respect never means concealing abuse or treating office as immunity.
Christian community rejects imposed humiliation because God does not regard His little ones as negligible.
Anchor passage
Matt.18.10
Doctrinal connections
- G2706: little ones possess dignity before the Father and must not be treated as spiritually disposable.
- G2706: contempt becomes visible through who receives food, attention, voice, and honor in the gathered church.
- G2706: God's kindness and patience lead toward repentance rather than validating self-righteous delay.
- G2706: money competes for allegiance and trains people to devalue what cannot serve profit.
- G2706: youth should not be dismissed, while young leaders still remain accountable to example and qualification.
- G2706: Jesus endures the cross while refusing the authority of its imposed shame to define Him.
G2706 is a Greek verb meaning think down on, think little of, despise, or disregard. Its genitive object identifies the person, authority, kindness, shame, or master being devalued.
From Old to New Testament
God repeatedly defends the poor, stranger, child, and socially disregarded in Scripture, while Jesus welcomes little ones and forms one body whose weaker-seeming members receive special honor. Jesus instead receives overlooked people and identifies treatment of the least with treatment offered to Him.