Greek word · G2666

καταπίνω

katapinō

to swallow

To drink down, gulp, swallow; figuratively to devour, engulf, drown, destroy completely.

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 30, 2026

What it means

κατα-πίνω

[in LXX chiefly for בָּלַע ;]

1. to drink down, swallow: Matthew 23:24, Revelation 12:16.

2. to devour: 1 Peter 5:8. Metaphorical, to swallow up, consume: pass., 1 Corinthians 15:54 (LXX), 2 Corinthians 2:7 5:4, Hebrews 11:29.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: To drink down, gulp, swallow; figuratively to devour, engulf, drown, destroy completely.
Against the English: KJV, WEB and YLT keep 'swallowed up'. BSB, NIV, ESV and NASB turn it into 'overwhelmed', which is accurate but drops the picture of being devoured or drowned.
Used elsewhere in the period: LXX Exod 15:12: the earth swallowed Pharaoh's army. Num 16:30–32: the ground swallowed Korah. Jonah 2:1: the great fish swallowed Jonah. Ps 69:15 (LXX 68:16): 'let not the deep swallow me'. Paul himself: 'Death is swallowed up in victory' (1 Cor 15:54) and 'that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life' (2 Cor 5:4). 1 Pet 5:8 uses it of the devil 'seeking someone to devour'.

Range of meaning: 'To drink down, swallow, gulp'. Figuratively, 'to destroy completely, consume'.
Against the English: Most versions: 'devour'. YLT: 'swallow up', closer to the literal picture and the LXX echoes.
Used elsewhere in the period: LXX: the earth swallowed Pharaoh's army (Exod 15:12) and Korah's band (Num 16:30–34). A great fish swallowed Jonah (Jonah 2:1). Nebuchadnezzar 'swallowed me like a dragon' (Jer 51:34, LXX 28:34). 'They would have swallowed us alive' (Ps 124:3, LXX 123:3). NT: 'death is swallowed up in victory' (1 Cor 15:54).

Range of meaning: To drink down, gulp, swallow whole. Figuratively: to devour, engulf, destroy completely (the earth swallowing Korah, Num 16:30–34; the sea swallowing Pharaoh, Exod 15:12; the fish swallowing Jonah, Jonah 2:1 LXX).
Against the English: English "swallowed up" keeps the image well. "Swallowed" by itself can sound mild. The Greek suggests being gulped down and wiped out.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the Hebrew Bible, Death and Sheol are pictured with open, greedy mouths: Isa 5:14 ("Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure"); Hab 2:5; Prov 1:12 ("let us swallow them alive like Sheol"). In the Ugaritic Baal myth from ancient Syria, the god Mot ("Death") is a huge swallower with one lip to earth and one to the heavens, and he swallows Baal (KTU 1.5 ii 2–6). Isaiah 25:8 reverses the picture: God swallows the swallower.

Matthew · 1

Matthew 23:24 καταπίνοντες.¶ swallowing!

You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

1 Corinthians · 1

1 Corinthians 15:54 κατεπόθη Has been swallowed up

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

Here: "Was swallowed down": swallowed whole and gone. The passive leaves God as the unnamed swallower; in Isaiah 25:8 God is the subject. Death, the great devourer, is itself devoured.

2 Corinthians · 2

2 Corinthians 2:7 καταποθῇ may be overwhelmed

So instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.

Here: A vivid picture: to be gulped down, engulfed, drowned. The fear is that grief will swallow the man whole, so that he is lost to despair and to the community. The passive form makes grief the thing that devours him.
2 Corinthians 5:4 καταποθῇ may be swallowed up

For while we are in this tent, we groan under our burdens, because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed, so that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.

Here: A vivid picture of being swallowed whole so that nothing is left. The passive implies that God does the swallowing. It echoes 'Death is swallowed up in victory' (1 Cor 15:54; Isa 25:8).

Hebrews · 1

Hebrews 11:29 κατεπόθησαν.¶ were swallowed up.

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were drowned.

Here: 'They were swallowed down.' This is a vivid picture of being gulped or devoured, not just a neutral word for drowning. It echoes the Song of the Sea, where 'the earth swallowed them' (Exodus 15:12). The passive leaves room for God as the one really acting (Exodus 14:27).

1 Peter · 1

1 Peter 5:8 καταπιεῖν· to devour;

Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Here: Literally 'drink down' or 'swallow whole'. In the Greek Old Testament it is used of the earth swallowing Korah, the fish swallowing Jonah, and enemies who would have 'swallowed us alive'. The aim is total destruction: a believer lost entirely.

Revelation · 1

Revelation 12:16 κατέπιεν swallowed up

But the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth to swallow up the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth.

Here: "Swallowed down": complete disappearance. It is the same verb used in the Greek Old Testament for the earth swallowing Pharaoh's army (Exodus 15:12) and Korah's rebels (Numbers 16).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.