Greek word · G2692

καταστροφή

katastrophē

ruin

Overturning, overthrow, ruin, destruction. In Greek drama it could mean the turning point or ending of a plot. In the Greek Old Testament it is the set term for Sodom's fate.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 24, 2026

What it means

κατα-στροφή, -ῆς, ἡ

(καταστρέφω), [in LXX: Job 21:17, Proverbs 1:27 (אֵיד), al. ;]

1. overthrow: 2 Peter 2:6 (WH, om.).

2. Metaphorical, subversion, upsetting (cf. καθαίρεσις, 2 Corinthians 13:10): 2 Timothy 2:14.†

(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 2:6

Range of meaning: Overturning, overthrow, ruin, destruction. In Greek drama it could mean the turning point or ending of a plot. In the Greek Old Testament it is the set term for Sodom's fate.
Against the English: KJV and YLT 'overthrow' keep the biblical term. BSB and WEB have 'destruction'; ESV has 'extinction'. These give the result but lose the echo of the 'overthrow of Sodom' phrase from the Old Testament. English 'catastrophe' comes from this word but now means any disaster.
How it drifted: The English 'catastrophe' has widened to mean any calamity. In the Bible the Greek word belonged to a fixed phrase for Sodom.
Used elsewhere in the period: Greek Genesis 19:29: God sent Lot 'out of the midst of the overthrow (katastrophē)'. The related verb is used in Gen 19:21, 25 ('he overthrew these cities'). It translates the Hebrew hapak / mahpekah ('overturn, overthrow'), which became a formula: 'like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah' (Deut 29:23; Isa 1:7; 13:19; Jer 49:18; 50:40; Amos 4:11).

From the study of 2 Timothy 2:14

Range of meaning: Overturning, overthrow, destruction, ruin. From katastrephō, 'to turn down, upset' (used of Jesus overturning the money-changers' tables, Matt 21:12). In drama it meant the final turn of a plot, the source of English 'catastrophe'.
Against the English: KJV 'subverting' and YLT 'subversion' were apt in their day (Latin subvertere, 'to overturn'). Today 'subvert' suggests quietly undermining something. The Greek is blunter: ruin. BSB/ESV 'ruin' is closer for modern readers.
How it drifted: English 'subvert' has narrowed since 1611 toward covert political undermining, losing the plain sense of 'overthrow'.
Used elsewhere in the period: Septuagint Gen 19:29 uses it for God's overthrow of the cities of the plain. 2 Pet 2:6 reuses it ('condemned them to destruction'). Paul's usual opposite is oikodomē, 'building up' (1 Cor 14:26; 2 Cor 10:8; 13:10, where authority is given 'for building up and not for tearing down').

Similar words

καταστρώννυμι katastrōnnymi · be thrown down

Where it appears

2 Timothy · 1

2 Timothy 2:14 καταστροφῇ [the] subversion

Remind the believers of these things, charging them before God to avoid quarreling over words, which succeeds only in leading the listeners to ruin.

Here: A strong word for being turned upside down or destroyed; it is the word used for the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:29 LXX; 2 Pet 2:6). It is the opposite of 'building up'. Such debate does not merely waste time; it wrecks people.

2 Peter · 1

2 Peter 2:6 καταστροφῇ to destruction

if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly;

Here: 'Overthrow': the standard word in the Greek Old Testament for what happened to Sodom (Gen 19:29). The dative can mean 'condemned them to ruin' (the sentence they received) or 'condemned them with an overthrow' (the way it was carried out). Some manuscripts leave the word out.

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