Greek word · G2669

καταπονέω

kataponeō

to oppress

To wear out by labour or pressure, exhaust; to oppress or mistreat; passive, to be worn down or worn out, to be in distress.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

κατα-πονέω, -ῶ

[in LXX: 2Ma.8:2 (A), 3Ma.2:2 3Mac 2:13 * ;]

to wear down, oppress, treat hardly: pass., Acts 7:24, 2 Peter 2:7.†

(AS)

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

In depth

From the study of 2 Peter 2:7

Range of meaning

To wear out by labour or pressure, exhaust; to oppress or mistreat; passive, to be worn down or worn out, to be in distress.

Against the English

KJV "vexed" now sounds like mild irritation. BSB/NIV "distressed" and ESV "greatly distressed" describe the inner feeling. NASB "oppressed" and YLT "worn down" keep the sense of pressure from outside grinding on someone.

How it drifted

In 1611 "vex" meant to trouble, afflict or harass seriously. It has since weakened to "annoy".

Used elsewhere in the period

Its only other New Testament use is Acts 7:24, of an Israelite being mistreated by an Egyptian. In 3 Maccabees 2:2, 13 it is used of oppressed people crying out to God. In ordinary Greek it describes being worn out by toil or hardship (BDAG).

Similar words

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 7:24 καταπονουμένῳ being oppressed

    And when he saw one of them being mistreated, Moses went to his defense and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian who was oppressing him.

2 Peter · 1

  1. 2 Peter 2:7 καταπονούμενον being distressed

    and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless

    Here: Present passive participle: Lot was "being worn down", over and over, by something done to him. The picture is slow, grinding exhaustion and oppression, not a moment of annoyance. Verse 8 says the same thing again: "day after day".

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