verb
katakeiomō
Strong’sG2621
I recline, am lying ill
stem katakei-12 times in the New Testamentin 5 of 27 books6 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
The word's basic meaning is to lie down 12. In the New Testament this takes two distinct, more specific forms.
The first is to lie sick, keeping to one's bed — that is, to be laid up ill 1234. Strong's notes that this sense arises as an implication of the basic "lie down" 2.
The second is to recline at a meal, the position taken while eating 123. Dodson's gloss likewise covers both this reclining posture and being laid up ill 4.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
κατά-κειμαι,
[in LXX: Pr 6:9 23:34 (שׁכב), Jth 13:15, Wi 17:7*;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2621 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
Epic dialect 3rd.pers. plural κατακείαται Refs 8th c.BC+: Ionic dialect pluperfect κατεκέατο Refs 5th c.BC+; subjunctive -κέωμαιRefs 5th c.BC+ —passive, only in present and imperfect with future middle -κείσομαι:—lie down, μῆλα τὰ δὴ κατάκειτ᾽ ἐσφαγμένα Refs 8th c.BC+; ἐπὶ πλευρὰς κ. Refs 8th c.BC+; νέκυς κ. Refs 7th c.BC+
2 lie hid, ἐν λόχμῃ.. κατέκειτο μέγας σῦς Refs 8th c.BC+
3 lie stored up, δοιοὶ γάρ τε πίθοι κατακείαται ἐν Διὸς οὔδει Refs 8th c.BC+
3.b to be deposited, of deeds in a registry, Refs 3rd c.AD+
4 lie sick, keep one's bed, NT+5th c.BC+; lie in bed, NT+5th c.BC+
5 lodge, reside, Refs 5th c.BC+
6 to be idle, Refs 5th c.BC+; of things, lie neglected, καθεύδειν ἐᾶν ἐν τῇ γῇ κατακείμενα τὰ τείχη Refs 5th c.BC+
7 recline at meals, πῖνε, κατάκεισο NT+5th c.BC+
8 of land, lie sloping to the sea, πρῶνες ἔξοχοι -κεινται Refs 5th c.BC+
9 ἀρετᾷ κατάκειται πᾶσαν ὀργάν is expended in every impulse on.., Refs
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
What the New Testament actually uses, first — the whole system this verb is built from is one click further down.
| Form and the Greek behind it | What it is | Usually | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| katakeiotōκατάκειται | happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular | eating | 1× |
| katakeioteκατέκειτο | was happening · he/she/itimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular | lying | 4× |
| katakeiorōκατακεῖσθαι | happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive | dining | 2× |
| katakeiorōntonκατακείμενον | happening now · objectpresent middle or passive participle accusative singular masculine | lying | 3× |
| katakeiorōntouκατακειμένου | happening now · of, belonging topresent middle or passive participle genitive singular masculine | sat at the table | 1× |
| katakeiorōntoisκατακείμενοι | happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative plural masculine | sitting at the table | 1× |
Every form the New Testament uses, in paradigm order. What the system can build beyond them — the whole of this verb, whether the text happens to use it or not — is in the tables below.
Every form the system can build — all 54, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 5 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katakeiomō | katakeiome | katakeiomē | katakeiomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | katakeiosō | katakeiose | katakeiosē | katakeioselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katakeiotō1×κατάκειται | katakeiote4×κατέκειτο | katakeiotē | katakeiotelē |
| we 1st person plural | katakeionō | katakeione | katakeionē | katakeionelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | katakeiovō | katakeiove | katakeiovē | katakeiovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | katakeiolō | katakeiole | katakeiolē | katakeiolelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katakeiomeiō | katakeiomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | katakeioseiō | katakeioseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katakeioteiō | katakeioteiē |
| we 1st person plural | katakeioneiō | katakeioneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | katakeioveiō | katakeioveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | katakeioleiō | katakeioleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | katakeiosōr | katakeiosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katakeiotōr | katakeiotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | katakeiovōr | katakeiovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | katakeiolōr | katakeiolēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katakeiomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | katakeiosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katakeiotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | katakeionoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | katakeiovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | katakeioloiō |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 2 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | katakeiorō2×κατακεῖσθαι | katakeiorē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 5 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | katakeiorōntos5× | katakeiorēntos |
Each is given in the form it takes as a subject. From there a participle carries the ordinary noun endings, in every case, number and gender — so these four columns are the whole of what the verb contributes.
How every form is built — the slots that make them
katakei is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
12 occurrences, every one of them listed
katakeiotō“eating”happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular1×
Luke 7:37“eating”… ta pola hamartōlas, kai epignōskarantas hoti katakeiotō en ta oikia tou Farisaiou, komizarantas …When a sinful woman from that town learned that Jesus was dining there, she brought an alabaster …
katakeiote“lying”was happening · he/she/itimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular4×
Mark 1:30“lying”tas de pentheras Simōnou katakeiote puressarōntas, kai euthuos legalō auto peri …Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and they promptly told Jesus about her.
Mark 2:4“lying”… chalalō ton krabatton hopou tos paralutikos katakeiote.… and lowered the paralytic on his mat.
Luke 5:25… anastēarantos enōpion autoiu, airarantos epi hem katakeiote, aperchata eis ton oikon autou doxazarōntos …… them, took what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.
John 5:3en houtai katakeiote plēthem toiu asthenarōntoiu, tufloiu, chōloiu, xēroiu.On these walkways lay a great number of the sick …
katakeiorō“dining”happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive2×
Mark 2:15Kai genotō katakeiorō auton en ta oikia autou, kai …While Jesus was dining at Levi’s house, many tax collectors …
Acts 28:8“lay sick”… tou Popliou puretoi kai dusenterie sunechorōnton katakeiorō, pros hon tos Paulos eisercharantos kai …… father of Publius was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him, and after praying and placing his …
katakeiorōnton“lying”happening now · objectpresent middle or passive participle accusative singular masculine3×
John 5:6houton horarantos tos Iēsus katakeiorōnton, kai gnōskarantos hoti pollon ēdē chronon …When Jesus saw him lying there and realized that he had …
Acts 9:33“lying”… tinon onome Aineon ek eteiu oktō katakeiorōnton epi krabattou, hos ate paraluorēntos.… he found a man named Aeneas who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years.
1 Corinthians 8:10… sin ton echarōnton gnōsian en eidōleie katakeiorōnton, ouchi tas suneidēsias autou asthenou arōntou …… sees you who are well informed eating in an idol’s temple, will he …
katakeiorōntou“sat at the table”happening now · of, belonging topresent middle or passive participle genitive singular masculine1×
Mark 14:3“sat at the table”… en ta oikia Simōnou tou leprou katakeiorōntou autou erchata gunaikas echarōntas alabastran mureu …… the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of …
katakeiorōntois“sitting at the table”happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative plural masculine1×
Luke 5:29“sitting at the table”… kai allosoiu hois ale meta autoiu katakeiorōntois.… along with others who were eating with them.