Greek word · G2852

κολαφίζω

kolaphizō

to beat

From kolaphos, 'a blow with the fist'. It means to punch, cuff or slap, often as mistreatment or insult. It is a late, rather colloquial word.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 25, 2026

What it means

κολαφίζω

(κόλαφος = Att.., κόνδυλοι, the knuckles, the closed fist)

(AS)

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

Range of meaning: From kolaphos, 'a blow with the fist'. It means to punch, cuff or slap, often as mistreatment or insult. It is a late, rather colloquial word.
Against the English: KJV/YLT 'buffet' is accurate but sounds old-fashioned. BSB, NIV, WEB and NASB 'torment', ESV 'harass' and NLT 'torment' all lose the physical picture of being punched. They also tilt the reader toward inner or psychological suffering, which the verb itself does not suggest.
How it drifted: Modern versions replaced the archaic 'buffet' with a general word for suffering, and the concrete image dropped out.
Used elsewhere in the period: Matt 26:67 and Mark 14:65 (Jesus punched during his trial); 1 Cor 4:11 (apostles 'buffeted', listed with hunger and homelessness); 1 Pet 2:20 (slaves beaten unjustly). In an honour-shame culture a blow to the face or head was public humiliation as much as pain.

Range of meaning: To strike with the fist, punch, cuff. It comes from kolaphos, 'a punch or knuckle blow.' It is a late, mostly Koine word, rare in classical Greek. In the New Testament it can also mean rough treatment more generally (1 Cor 4:11, 'we are knocked about'; 2 Cor 12:7, the 'messenger of Satan' who 'torments/buffets' Paul; 1 Pet 2:20, slaves 'beaten' for wrongdoing).
Against the English: The KJV/YLT word 'buffet' originally meant to hit with the fist. Today most readers know it only from wind 'buffeting' a plane, or a buffet meal. BSB and ESV 'struck' are correct but say less. NIV, NASB, NLT and WEB spell out 'with their fists,' which is the word's actual meaning.
How it drifted: Since the KJV, 'buffet' has narrowed in everyday English to things like wind and waves, so its sense of punching a person has faded.
Used elsewhere in the period: Mark 14:65 (the same scene); 1 Cor 4:11; 2 Cor 12:7; 1 Pet 2:20. The Latin Vulgate borrows the Greek noun: 'colaphis eum ceciderunt,' 'they beat him with fists.' BDAG gives 'strike with the fist, beat, cuff.'

Range of meaning: To strike with the fist, to punch. From kolaphos, a punch. Extended to rough treatment or harassment in general.
Against the English: KJV and YLT say “buffet,” which in older English meant to strike with the fist. Most modern readers no longer know that sense. BSB and WEB say “fists,” which is exact.
How it drifted: In older English “buffet” meant a blow with the hand or fist. Today the word most often brings to mind a self-service meal, so the KJV wording is now unclear to many readers.
Used elsewhere in the period: A word found mostly in later Greek. In the New Testament: Matthew 26:67 (the parallel), 1 Corinthians 4:11 (“we are beaten”), 2 Corinthians 12:7 (Paul's thorn is a messenger of Satan “to beat me”), 1 Peter 2:20 (slaves beaten unjustly).

Matthew · 1

Matthew 26:67 ἐκολάφισαν struck

Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him

Here: From kolaphos, 'a blow with the fist or knuckles.' This is punching, more specific than the supplied gloss 'to beat.' It is physical brutality added to the insult of spitting.

Mark · 1

Mark 14:65 κολαφίζειν to strike

Then some of them began to spit on Him. They blindfolded Him, struck Him with their fists, and said to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers received Him with slaps in His face.

Here: To punch someone with the fist, from kolaphos, “a punch.” These are blows meant to hurt and humiliate, landing on a man who cannot see them coming.

1 Corinthians · 1

1 Corinthians 4:11 κολαφιζόμεθα are buffeted

To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.

Here: Passive, 'we are being hit with fists'. These are blows to the head or face, the kind of rough handling slaves and nobodies got. It hurts, and it is an insult. Jesus was treated this way at his trial.

2 Corinthians · 1

2 Corinthians 12:7 κολαφίζῃ he may buffet

or because of these surpassingly great revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

Here: To punch or cuff someone, a blow that hurts and also humiliates. The same verb is used of the guards beating Jesus (Mark 14:65). The present tense means 'keep punching': repeated, ongoing blows.

1 Peter · 1

1 Peter 2:20 κολαφιζόμενοι being struck

How is it to your credit if you are beaten for doing wrong and you endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.

Here: Being hit with fists or slapped. This was ordinary, humiliating physical punishment of a slave in a household. The same verb is used of the blows Jesus received at his trial (Mark 14:65; Matthew 26:67).

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