verb
katergazomō
Strong’sG2716
I work out, produce, accomplish
stem katergaz-22 times in the New Testamentin 7 of 27 books13 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
κατεργάζομαι means to work something out, achieve, accomplish, or bring about through effort 124. It describes producing or effecting a result by labour, and is used of working something out for oneself or for someone else, of God or a person accomplishing something (such as endurance, salvation, or a good outcome), and equally of "working out" or producing bad results, as when it describes committing or carrying out evil deeds 1. By implication it can also carry the sense of finishing or fashioning something, or simply performing or doing a deed 2.
In the Greek Old Testament the word is also used of levelling mountains, in the sense of flattening or grading land 3.
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
κατ-εργάζομαι
(emphatic form of ἐργάζομαι), [in LXX for פּעל, etc. (9 exx., each for a different Heb. word);]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2716 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
future -άσομαι, later 3rd.pers. singular -ᾶται Refs 2nd c.BC+aorist κατειργασάμην, and (in passive sense) κατειργάσθην (see. below): perfect κατείργασμαι both in active and passive sense (see. below):— effect by labour, achieve, πρήγματα μεγάλα Refs 5th c.BC+; ἢν κατεργάσῃ if you do the job, Refs 5th c.BC+: perfect κατείργασμαι, μέγιστα ἔργα Refs 5th c.BC+: in passive sense, to have been effected or achieved, Refs 5th c.BC+: aorist -ειργάσθην Refs 2nd c.AD+
b earn, gain by labour, acquire, τὴν ἡγεμονίην Refs 5th c.BC+
c absolutely, achieve one's object, be successful, αὐτὸς ἑωυτῷ Refs; simply, work, ἐν τοῖς ἐργαστηρίοις Refs
2 with accusative person, make an end of, finish, kill, ἑωυτόν Refs 5th c.BC+
2.b overpower, subdue, conquer, Refs 5th c.BC+; ποσὶ καὶ στόματι κ. [τινά] attack him, of a horse, Refs in passive sense, of land, μακέλλῃ τῇ κατείργασται πέδον is subdued, brought under cultivation, Refs 4th c.BC+; later transitive, cultivate, Refs 2nd c.BC+
2.c prevail upon, κατεργάσατο καὶ ἀνέπεισε Ξέρξην, ὥστε.. Refs 5th c.BC+ —passive, οὐκ ἐδύνατο κατεργασθῆναι [ἡ γυνή] could not be prevailed upon, Refs 5th c.BC+
2.d with double accusative, do something to one, καλόν τι τὴν πόλιν Refs 5th c.BC+ carry on business in the city, Refs 3rd c.AD+
II till, cultivate land, Refs 3rd c.BC+, etc.; work up for use, frequently of food, by chewing or digestion, ὀδόντας ἔχει οἷς κ. τὴν τροφήν Refs 4th c.BC+; τὸ -αζόμενον ἔχειν εὔρωστον a strong digestion, Refs; κ. τὰ ἐδέσματα Refs 5th c.BC+; by grinding (of corn), Refs 1st c.BC+; by ripening (of fruits), κατειργασμένα ἐπὶ τοῦ δένδρου Refs 2nd c.AD+; κ. μέλι make.., Refs 5th c.BC+; κ. τὴν κόπρον prepare it, Refs 4th c.BC+; λίθους Refs 1st c.BC+
II.2 turn bullion into coin, Refs 3rd c.BC+
III work at, practise, ἄλλην μελέτην κ. Refs 5th c.BC+
IV κ. ὄρη level them, LXX+1st c.AD+
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.
1 rarer rendering are not shown; every occurrence below carries the English it was given there.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| katergazomōκατεργάζομαι | happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular | do | 3× |
| katergazotōκατεργάζεται | happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular | produces | 6× |
| katergazetaκατειργάσατο | happened · he/she/itaorist middle indicative 3rd person singular | produced | 3× |
| katergazitaκατειργάσθη | happened · he/she/itaorist passive indicative 3rd person singular | performed | 1× |
| katergazovōrκατεργάζεσθε | happening now · yepresent middle or passive imperative 2nd person plural | work out | 1× |
| katergazorōκατεργάζεσθαι | happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive | do | 1× |
| katergazorēκατειργάσθαι | has happened · the “to …” formperfect middle or passive infinitive | doing | 1× |
| katergazorōntasκατεργαζομένη | happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular feminine | producing | 1× |
| katergazorōntouκατεργαζομένου | happening now · of, belonging topresent middle or passive participle genitive singular masculine | does | 1× |
| katergazorōntoisκατεργαζόμενοι | happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative plural masculine | committing | 1× |
| katergazerantosκατεργασάμενος | happened · subjectaorist middle participle nominative singular masculine | prepared | 1× |
| katergazerantonκατεργασάμενον | happened · objectaorist middle participle accusative singular masculine | done | 1× |
| katergazerantoisκατεργασάμενοι | happened · subjectaorist middle participle nominative plural masculine | done | 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 118, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 13 occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katergazomō3×κατεργάζομαι | katergazome | katergazomē | katergazomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | katergazosō | katergazose | katergazosē | katergazoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katergazotō6×κατεργάζεται | katergazote | katergazotē | katergazotelē |
| we 1st person plural | katergazonō | katergazone | katergazonē | katergazonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | katergazovō | katergazove | katergazovē | katergazovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | katergazolō | katergazole | katergazolē | katergazolelē |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katergazemi | katergazema |
| you 2nd person singular | katergazesi | katergazesa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katergazeti | katergazeta3×κατειργάσατο |
| we 1st person plural | katergazeni | katergazena |
| ye 2nd person plural | katergazevi | katergazeva |
| they 3rd person plural | katergazeli | katergazela |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katergazimi | katergazima |
| you 2nd person singular | katergazisi | katergazisa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katergaziti | katergazita1×κατειργάσθη |
| we 1st person plural | katergazini | katergazina |
| ye 2nd person plural | katergazivi | katergaziva |
| they 3rd person plural | katergazili | katergazila |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katergazomeiō | katergazomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | katergazoseiō | katergazoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katergazoteiō | katergazoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | katergazoneiō | katergazoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | katergazoveiō | katergazoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | katergazoleiō | katergazoleiē |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katergazemeia |
| you 2nd person singular | katergazeseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katergazeteia |
| we 1st person plural | katergazeneia |
| ye 2nd person plural | katergazeveia |
| they 3rd person plural | katergazeleia |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katergazimeia |
| you 2nd person singular | katergaziseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katergaziteia |
| we 1st person plural | katergazineia |
| ye 2nd person plural | katergaziveia |
| they 3rd person plural | katergazileia |
Commands — imperative mood, 1 occurrence
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | katergazosōr | katergazosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katergazotōr | katergazotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | katergazovōr1×κατεργάζεσθε | katergazovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | katergazolōr | katergazolēr |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | katergazesar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katergazetar |
| ye 2nd person plural | katergazevar |
| they 3rd person plural | katergazelar |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | katergazisar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katergazitar |
| ye 2nd person plural | katergazivar |
| they 3rd person plural | katergazilar |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katergazomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | katergazosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katergazotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | katergazonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | katergazovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | katergazoloiō |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katergazemoia |
| you 2nd person singular | katergazesoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katergazetoia |
| we 1st person plural | katergazenoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | katergazevoia |
| they 3rd person plural | katergazeloia |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katergazimoia |
| you 2nd person singular | katergazisoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katergazitoia |
| we 1st person plural | katergazinoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | katergazivoia |
| they 3rd person plural | katergaziloia |
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 | katergazorō1×κατεργάζεσθαι | katergazorē1×κατειργάσθαι | ||
| acts on or for itself middle voice | katergazeri | katergazera | ||
| acted on passive voice | katergaziri | katergazira |
Used as an adjective — participle, 6 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 | katergazorōntos3× | katergazorēntos | ||
| acts on or for itself middle voice | katergazerintos | katergazerantos3×κατεργασάμενος | ||
| acted on passive voice | katergazirintos | katergazirantos |
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
katergaz 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.
22 occurrences, every one of them listed
katergazomō“do”happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular3×
Romans 7:15“doing”hem gar katergazomō ouk gnōskamō; ouk gar hem thelamō …I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But …
Romans 7:17nuni de ouketi mis katergazomō autem alla tas oikarōntas en mi …… it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living …
Romans 7:20… ouk thelamō houtem poiamō, ouketi mis katergazomō autem alla tas oikarōntas en mi …… it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living …
katergazotō“produces”happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular6×
Romans 4:15tos gar nomos organ katergazotō, hou de ouk atō nomos, oude …because the law brings wrath. And where there is no …
Romans 5:3… thlipsiai, oidarēntois hoti tas thlipsias hupomonan katergazotō,… sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
2 Corinthians 4:17… huperbolan eis huperbolan aiōniem barosem doxau katergazotō ni,… our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of …
2 Corinthians 7:10“produces”… tas de tou kosmou lupas thanaton katergazotō.… without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
2 Corinthians 9:11“producing”… pante ploutizorōntois eis pantan haplotan, hotinas katergazotō dia nu eucharistian to theo… will be enriched in every way to be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will produce thanksgiving to God.
James 1:3“produces”… hoti tem dokimiem vu tau pistiau katergazotō hupomonan;… you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
katergazeta“produced”happened · he/she/itaorist middle indicative 3rd person singular3×
Romans 7:8… labarantas tas hamartas dia tau entolau katergazeta en mi pantan epithumian, chōris gar …… seizing its opportunity through the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous …
Romans 15:18… gar tolmami tinem lalarō heiu ouk katergazeta Christos dia mu eis hupakoan ethneiu, …… of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles …
2 Corinthians 7:11… houtem tem kata theon lupira posan katergazeta vi spoudan, alla apologian, alla aganaktēsian, …Consider what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness …
katergazita“performed”happened · he/she/itaorist passive indicative 3rd person singular1×
2 Corinthians 12:12teim men sēmeim tou apostolou katergazita en vi en panta hupomona, sēmei …… apostle — signs, wonders, and miracles — were performed among you with great perseverance.
katergazovōr“work out”happening now · yepresent middle or passive imperative 2nd person plural1×
Philippians 2:12… fobou kai tromou tan heautoiu sōtērēan katergazovōr,… more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
katergazorō“do”happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive1×
Romans 7:18… gar thelarō parakeiotō mi, tem de katergazorō tem kalem ou;… for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot …
katergazorē“doing”has happened · the “to …” formperfect middle or passive infinitive1×
1 Peter 4:3“doing”… parercharēntos chronos tem boulēmem teiu ethneiu katergazorē, poreuorēntoin en aselgeiai, epithumiai, oinoflugiai, kōmoi, …… you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and …
katergazorōntas“producing”happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular feminine1×
Romans 7:13“producing”… faniteia hamartas dia teu agatheu mi katergazorōntas thanaton; hina geneteia kata huperbolan hamartōlas …… exposed as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
katergazorōntou“does”happening now · of, belonging topresent middle or passive participle genitive singular masculine1×
Romans 2:9… stenochōrias, epi pantan psuchan anthrōpou tou katergazorōntou tem kakosem, Ioudaiou tē prōtem kai …… distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then …
katergazorōntois“committing”happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative plural masculine1×
Romans 1:27“committing”… allēloin, arsenois en arsenoi tan aschēmosunan katergazorōntois kai tan antimisthian han date tau …… lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their …
katergazerantos“prepared”happened · subjectaorist middle participle nominative singular masculine1×
2 Corinthians 5:5tos de katergazerantos nin eis autem houtem theos, tos …And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and …
katergazeranton“done”happened · objectaorist middle participle accusative singular masculine1×
1 Corinthians 5:3“done”… krinamē hōs pareiarōntos ton houtōs houtem katergazeranton… judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.
katergazerantois“done”happened · subjectaorist middle participle nominative plural masculine1×
Ephesians 6:13… ta hēmera ta ponēra kai hapanteim katergazerantois stēara.… to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.