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Greek verb · G2723

κατηγορέω

kategoreokat-ay-gor-eh'-o

to accuse

22 uses in the Greek text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key

Concordance spelling: katēgoréō

Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's G2723is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.

  • 7 of 27
    New Testament books
  • 15
    spellings

The definition in full

Strong's key (1890) · G2723

to be a plaintiff, i.e. to charge with some offence

The King James renders it: accuse, object.

James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.

Summary

kategoreo is rendered "to accuse". It stands 22 times in the Greek text, across seven books.

  • Nine of the uses stand in Acts, more than in any other book.
  • Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Matthew 12:10and a man with a withered hand was there. In order to accuse Jesus, they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
  • The Greek text spells it fifteen different ways.

The first use

and a man with a withered hand was there. In order to accuse Jesus, they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

Matthew 12:10κατηγορήσωσιν

The first use, in the order of the New Testament's books.

Where the word stands

Nine of the word's twenty-two uses are in Acts.

The other 20 New Testament books never use the word.

What the word means

Each meaning, and the words it is translated by

How the Greek text is glossed, word by word

  • accusing4
  • to accuse3
  • accuse2
  • they accuse2
  • they may accuse2
  • accusation you are bringing1
  • being accused1
  • he is accused1
  • is accusing1
  • they should accuse1
  • to lay against1
  • to make accusation1

and 2 more, 22 uses in all

The words built on the same word-part

Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.

κατηχέωkatecheoto instructUses8
κατήγοροςkategorosaccuserUses4
κατηγορίαkategoriaaccusationUses3
κατήφειαkatepheiagloominessUses1

All 22, in canonical order

Every use, in order

Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.

15 spellings and their grammar

STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.

How it is spelled

  • κατηγορεῖν5
  • κατηγορήσωσιν2
  • κατηγοροῦσίν2
  • κατηγορῶν2
  • κατηγορεῖσθαι1
  • κατηγορεῖται1
  • κατηγορεῖτε1
  • κατηγορείτωσαν1
  • κατηγορήσω1
  • κατηγοροῦμεν1
  • κατηγορούμενος1
  • κατηγόρουν1

and 3 more spellings in the ledger below.

The grammar of each form

  • verb · present active, infinitive (“to…”)5V-PAN
  • verb · present active, indicative · 3rd person plural3V-PAI-3P
  • verb · aorist active, subjunctive · 3rd person plural2V-AAS-3P
  • verb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singular2V-PAP-NSM
  • verb · future active, indicative · 1st person singular1V-FAI-1S
  • verb · imperfect active, indicative · 3rd person plural1V-IAI-3P
  • verb · present active, indicative · 1st person plural1V-PAI-1P
  • verb · present active, indicative · 2nd person plural1V-PAI-2P
  • verb · present active, command · 3rd person plural1V-PAM-3P
  • verb · present active, participle · genitive (“of”) · masculine plural1V-PAP-GPM
  • verb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine plural1V-PAP-NPM
  • verb · present passive, indicative · 3rd person singular1V-PPI-3S

Matthew

two uses
  • and a man with a withered hand was there. In order to accuse Jesus, they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

    Matthew 12:10

    • κατηγορήσωσινkategoresosinverb · aorist active, subjunctive · 3rd person pluraltagged: they may accuse
  • And when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He gave no answer.

    Matthew 27:12

    • κατηγορεῖσθαιkategoreisthaiverb · present passive, infinitive (“to…”)tagged: accusing

Mark

three uses
  • In order to accuse Jesus, they were watching to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.

    Mark 3:2

    • κατηγορήσωσινkategoresosinverb · aorist active, subjunctive · 3rd person pluraltagged: they may accuse
  • And the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things.

    Mark 15:3

    • κατηγόρουνkategorounverb · imperfect active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: were accusing
  • Then Pilate questioned Him again, “Have You no answer? Look how many charges they are bringing against You!”

    Mark 15:4

    • κατηγοροῦσιν.¶kategorousinverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: they accuse

Luke

four uses
  • Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.

    Luke 6:7

    • κατηγορεῖνkategoreinverb · present active, infinitive (“to…”)tagged: to accuse
  • And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding payment of taxes to Caesar, and proclaiming Himself to be Christ, a King.”

    Luke 23:2

    • κατηγορεῖνkategoreinverb · present active, infinitive (“to…”)tagged: to accuse
  • Meanwhile, the chief priests and scribes stood there, vehemently accusing Him.

    Luke 23:10

    • κατηγοροῦντεςkategorountesverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine pluraltagged: accusing
  • and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined Him here in your presence and found Him not guilty of your charges against Him.

    Luke 23:14

    • κατηγορεῖτεkategoreiteverb · present active, indicative · 2nd person pluraltagged: accusation you are bringing

John

two uses
  • Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, in whom you have put your hope.

    John 5:45

    • κατηγορήσωkategoresoverb · future active, indicative · 1st person singulartagged: will accuse
    • κατηγορῶνkategoronverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: accusing

Acts

nine uses
  • The next day the commander, wanting to learn the real reason Paul was accused by the Jews, released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul down and had him stand before them.

    Acts 22:30

    • κατηγορεῖταιkategoreitaiverb · present passive, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: he is accused
  • When Paul had been called in, Tertullus opened the prosecution: “Because of you, we have enjoyed a lasting peace, and your foresight has brought improvements to this nation.

    Acts 24:2

    • κατηγορεῖνkategoreinverb · present active, infinitive (“to…”)tagged: to accuse
  • By examining him yourself, you will be able to learn the truth about all our charges against him.”

    Acts 24:8

    • κατηγοροῦμενkategoroumenverb · present active, indicative · 1st person pluraltagged: accuse
  • Nor can they prove to you any of their charges against me.

    Acts 24:13

    • κατηγοροῦσίνkategorousinverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: they accuse
  • who ought to appear before you and bring charges, if they have anything against me.

    Acts 24:19

    • κατηγορεῖνkategoreinverb · present active, infinitive (“to…”)tagged: to make accusation
  • So if this man has done anything wrong, let some of your leaders come down with me and accuse him there.”

    Acts 25:5

    • κατηγορείτωσανkategoreitosanverb · present active, command · 3rd person pluraltagged: they should accuse
  • If, however, I am guilty of anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if there is no truth to their accusations against me, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

    Acts 25:11

    • κατηγοροῦσίνkategorousinverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: accuse
  • I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand a man over before he has had an opportunity to face his accusers and defend himself against their charges.

    Acts 25:16

    • κατηγορούμενοςkategoroumenosverb · present passive, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: being accused
  • But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, even though I have no charge to bring against my nation.

    Acts 28:19

    • κατηγορεῖνkategoreinverb · present active, infinitive (“to…”)tagged: to lay against

Romans

one use
  • So they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them

    Romans 2:15

    • κατηγορούντωνkategorountonverb · present active, participle · genitive (“of”) · masculine pluraltagged: accusing

Revelation

one use
  • And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down—he who accuses them day and night before our God.

    Revelation 12:10

    • κατηγορῶνkategoronverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: is accusing

Where it leads

How the numbers are counted

Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.

Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.

The family is read from the lexicon by the stem the two words share, with the accents off, and a person or a place named on the stem is left out.

Hebrew and Greek text, word tagging and grammar: STEP Bible (www.STEPBible.org), Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0. Their grammar codes are written out in English here and shown as tagged beside each one.

Meaning and senses: STEP Bible TBESG (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0), the Brief lexicon based on Abbott-Smith (1922).

Dictionary key: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890, public domain). English verse text: Berean Standard Bible (public domain, 2023).

Revised 2026-09-05. Every cited work, the sources registry →