Original Word: κατεσθίω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: katesthió
Pronunciation: kat-es-thee'-o
Phonetic Spelling: (kat-es-thee'-o)
KJV: devour
NASB: devour, ate, devoured, devours, consume, eat
Word Origin: [from G2596 (κατά - according) and G2068 (ἐσθίω - eat) (including its alternate)]

1. to eat down, i.e. devour
{literally or figuratively}

devour.

From kata and esthio (including its alternate); to eat down, i.e. Devour (literally or figuratively) -- devour.

see GREEK kata

see GREEK esthio

2719 katesthíō (from 2596 /katá, "down," intensifying 2068 /esthíō, "eat") – properly, eat all the way down; (figuratively) utterly devour, leaving nothing; ferociously consume all the way down, i.e. with a rapacious, voracious appetite – leaving only ruination, without hope of recovery (or even remains).

Word Origin
from kata and esthió
Definition
to eat up
NASB Translation
ate (4), consume (1), devour (5), devoured (2), devours (2), eat (1).

STRONGS NT 2719: καταφάγω

καταφάγω, see κατεσθίω.

STRONGS NT 2719: κατεσθίωκατεσθίω, participle plural κατεσθοντες (Mark 12:40 Tr WH; see ἐσθίω and ἔσθω; cf. Fritzsche, Hdbch. z. d. Apokryphen, i., p. 150 (who says, 'The shorter form occurs frequently in the Sept., Leviticus 19:26; Sir. 20:15 (16), elsewhere almost exclusively poetic; see Alexander Buttmann (1873) Ausf. Sprachl. ii., p. 185' (cf. Veitch, under the word, ἐσθίω))); future καταφάγομαι (John 2:17 G L T Tr WH; see ἐσθίω); 2 aorist κατέφαγον; the Sept. for אָכַל;

1. properly, to consume by eating, to eat up, devour: τί, of birds, Matthew 13:4; Mark 4:4; Luke 8:5; of a dragon, Revelation 12:4; of a man, eating up the little book, i. e. eagerly taking its entire contents into his inmost soul, and, as we say, digesting it (borrowed from the figure in Ezekiel 2:10; Ezekiel 3:1-3, cf. Jeremiah 15:16): Revelation 10:9f.

2. Metaphorically, in various uses;

a. to devour i. e. squander, waste, substance: Luke 15:30 (often so in Greek writings from Homer, Odyssey 3, 315; 15, 12 down;devorare patrimonium, Catull. 29, 23).

b. to devour i. e. forcibly appropriate: τάς οἰκίας τῶν χηρῶν, widows' property, Matthew 23:14-13Rec.; Mark 12:40 (cf. Buttmann, 79 (69); Winer's Grammar, § 29, 2); Luke 20:47.

c. with an accusative of the person α. to strip one of his goods: 2 Corinthians 11:20. β. to ruin (by the infliction of injuries): Galatians 5:15.

d. of fire, to devour i. e. utterly consume, destroy: τινα, Revelation 11:5; Revelation 20:9.

e. of the consumption of the strength of body and mind by strong emotions: τινα, John 2:17 (Psalm 68:10 (); Josephus, Antiquities 7, 8, 1).

Overview of New Testament Usage

Strong’s Greek 2719, translated most often as “devour,” “consume,” or “eat up,” appears fifteen times and ranges from literal destruction by animals or fire to figurative pictures of greed, hypocrisy, and interpersonal strife. The contexts fall naturally into four groups: agricultural parables, social injustice, church conflict, and eschatological judgment. Each occurrence reinforces the moral and theological lesson that unchecked appetite—whether physical, financial, or spiritual—leads to ruin, while God ultimately overcomes every force that seeks to consume His people.

Agricultural Parables: The Word Stolen Before It Takes Root

Matthew 13:4, Mark 4:4, and Luke 8:5 portray birds that “devoured” seed sown on the path. The image illustrates how the devil snatches away the Word before it penetrates the heart. The parable warns hearers to guard the gospel seed lest spiritual predators consume it unseen. When Revelation 12:4 depicts the dragon waiting “to devour her child,” the same threat is global: Satan schemes to swallow up the messianic promise itself, yet is thwarted by divine protection. Taken together, these passages present a consistent biblical pattern—God’s good gift is immediately targeted by evil forces that would devour it unless believers remain vigilant and God intervenes.

Messianic Zeal and Personal Cost

John 2:17 cites Psalm 69:9, “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.” The verb projects forward to the cross where Christ’s holy passion will, in effect, devour Him. Here κατασθίω underscores sacrificial love: unlike predatory devouring, the Messiah is willingly “eaten up” by zeal for the Father’s glory, achieving redemption for those once preyed upon by sin.

Social Injustice: Devouring Widows’ Houses

Matthew 23:14; Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47 expose religious leaders who “devour widows’ houses.” What should have been shepherding becomes predation. By attaching the same verb to hypocrisy that was applied to birds and dragons, Scripture brands exploitative piety as satanic in character. In Luke 15:30 the elder brother accuses the prodigal of having “devoured your wealth with prostitutes,” showing how reckless living likewise consumes family resources. The passages hold a mirror to every generation: whether by institutional greed or individual indulgence, devouring the vulnerable provokes severe condemnation.

Internal Church Strife

2 Corinthians 11:20 laments false teachers who “devour” the Corinthian church through spiritual exploitation. Galatians 5:15 broadens the warning: “if you keep on biting and devouring one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another”. Paul pictures a congregation turning cannibalistic through factionalism. The verb thus becomes a searching diagnosis of life without the Spirit—believers can behave like predators when love is absent.

Eschatological Judgment and Protection

Revelation employs κατασθίω in multiple scenes of final judgment:

• Revelation 11:5 – Fire from the witnesses’ mouths “devours their enemies,” signaling divine protection of testimony.
• Revelation 20:9 – Fire from heaven “consumed” the rebels surrounding the “beloved city,” answering Psalm 97:3’s promise that “fire goes before Him.”
• Revelation 10:9-10 – John is told to “eat” the scroll; the prophet must take into himself the bittersweet word before proclaiming judgment. Here devouring the word precedes the word devouring the earth.

These texts assure the church that though hostile powers attempt to devour the saints, the final act belongs to God, whose consuming fire defends His people and purifies creation (Hebrews 12:29).

Pastoral and Ministry Implications

1. Guard the Seed: Preachers and parents alike must labor so that the Word is not devoured before germination—through prayer, explanation, and discipleship.
2. Practice Self-Sacrifice, Not Exploitation: Leaders are called to share Christ’s consuming zeal, not to consume the flock. Financial transparency and genuine service prevent “devouring widows’ houses.”
3. Cultivate the Fruit of the Spirit: Congregations must resist the drift toward mutual devouring by walking in love, gentleness, and patience (Galatians 5:22-23).
4. Trust Divine Judgment: Believers need not retaliate against persecutors; Revelation’s images guarantee that God will devour what threatens His people, whether spiritual adversary or eschatological army.

Intertextual Echoes

Old Testament background enriches every New Testament use. “Devouring” fire signals divine presence (Leviticus 10:2; Psalm 50:3). Prophetic scrolls are eaten by Ezekiel before proclamation (Ezekiel 3:1-3). The new covenant writers draw on this vocabulary to affirm that Scripture, sin, and judgment all have consuming power, and only the LORD determines which prevails.

Summary

Strong’s Greek 2719 traces a sweeping biblical theology of appetite and judgment: birds, beasts, hypocrites, and dragons devour; the Son is consumed for sinners; the church must not devour itself; and, in the end, the Lion-Lamb wields a holy fire that devours evil forever.

καταφαγε κατάφαγε καταφαγείν καταφαγεται καταφάγεται καταφάγεταί καταφαγέτω καταφαγη καταφάγη καταφάγῃ καταφάγοι καταφάγοισαν καταφάγονται καταφαγων καταφαγών κατέδεσθε κατεδέται κατέδεται κατέδονται κατέσθετε κατέσθη κατεσθιει κατεσθίει κατεσθιετε κατεσθίετε κατεσθιέτωσαν κατεσθίοντας κατεσθίοντες κατεσθίουσα κατεσθιούσης κατεσθίουσι κατεσθιουσιν κατεσθίουσιν κατεσθοντες κατέσθοντες κατέσθουσα κατευθύ κατέφαγε κατέφαγέ κατεφαγεν κατέφαγεν κατεφαγον κατέφαγον κατήσθιεν φαγε kataphage kataphagē katáphage kataphágei kataphágēi kataphagetai kataphágetaí kataphagon kataphagōn kataphagṓn katephagen katéphagen katephagon katéphagon katesthiei katesthíei katesthiete katesthíete katesthiontes katesthíontes katesthiousin katesthíousinInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts