What does ἀτιμάζω (atimázō) mean in the Bible?
ἀτιμάζω means to dishonor, disgrace, or treat someone without due honor. In John 8:49, Jesus contrasts His honor of the Father with His opponents' dishonor of Him.
Greek · G818
ἀτιμάζω
To dishonor
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
ἀτιμάζω G818
Pronunciation atimázō
What does ἀτιμάζω (atimázō) mean in the Bible?
ἀτιμάζω means to dishonor, disgrace, or treat someone without due honor. In John 8:49, Jesus contrasts His honor of the Father with His opponents' dishonor of Him.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀτιμάζω (G818) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G818?
The BSB source-word alignment has 7 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include dishonor (1), dishonoring (1), do you dishonor (1), have dishonored (1), of suffering disgrace (1).
Where does ἀτιμάζω (atimázō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 12:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Romans (2), Acts (1), James (1), John (1).
What This Word Actually Means
ἀτιμάζω means to dishonor, disgrace, or treat someone without due honor. In John 8:49, Jesus contrasts His honor of the Father with His opponents' dishonor of Him. Romans 2:23 applies the verb to lawbreaking that dishonors God, and James 2:6 applies it to an assembly's treatment of the poor. The object and moral significance therefore come from each passage, not from a single social-honor formula.
Acts 5:41 uses the related experience of suffering dishonor for Jesus' name. That passage can steady believers facing faithful persecution, but it does not make every humiliation holy. Churches should not use honor language to shield leaders, silence truthful reports, or require people to remain in abusive situations. James instead makes partial treatment of the poor an example of dishonor within the congregation.
Lexical sourceCanonical parallelPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
The verb names dishonoring treatment. Its New Testament settings include opposition to Jesus, conduct that dishonors God, and contempt for the poor; each passage identifies whose honor is violated and why.
- John.8.49
“I do not have a demon,” Jesus replied, “but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
Jesus identifies His conduct as honor toward the Father and His opponents' accusation as dishonor toward the sent Son.
- Acts.5.41
The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.
The apostles rejoice that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Jesus' name. The verse concerns suffering tied to their witness, not humiliation in general.
- Rom.2.23
You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?
Religious possession and boasting cannot compensate for conduct that dishonors the God who gave the law.
- Jas.2.6
But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
Favoritism in the assembly treats the poor as without honor and contradicts faith in the glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
Canonical parallelPassage context
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It dishonor 1× John 8:49
dishonoring 1× Romans 1:24
do you dishonor 1× Romans 2:23
have dishonored 1× James 2:6
of suffering disgrace 1× Acts 5:41
treated [him] shamefully 1× Mark 12:4
treated him shamefully 1× Luke 20:11
Show sample aligned rows
Mark 12:4 ἠτίμασαν to treated [him] shamefully Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Luke 20:11 ἀτιμάσαντες to treated him shamefully Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural John 8:49 ἀτιμάζετέ to dishonor Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural Acts 5:41 ἀτιμασθῆναι to of suffering disgrace Verb - Aorist Infinitive Passive Romans 1:24 ἀτιμάζεσθαι to dishonoring Verb - Present Infinitive Middle or Passive Romans 2:23 ἀτιμάζεις to do you dishonor Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular James 2:6 ἠτιμάσατε to have dishonored Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Mark 12:4
Aligned rows 7
Books represented 6
Mark 1 Luke 1 John 1 Acts 1 Romans 2 James 1
Source forms
ἀτιμάζεις 1x atimazeis Romans 2:23
ἀτιμάζεσθαι 1x atimazesthai Romans 1:24
ἀτιμάζετέ 1x atimazete John 8:49
ἀτιμάσαντες 1x atimasantes Luke 20:11
ἀτιμασθῆναι 1x atimasthēnai Acts 5:41
ἠτίμασαν 1x ētimasan Mark 12:4
ἠτιμάσατε 1x ētimasate James 2:6
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural 1x James 2:6
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Mark 12:4
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Passive 1x Acts 5:41
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Luke 20:11
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural 1x John 8:49
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular 1x Romans 2:23
Verb - Present Infinitive Middle or Passive 1x Romans 1:24
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Distinguish suffering disgrace for faithful allegiance to Christ from humiliation imposed by abuse, favoritism, or corrupt authority. The latter should be confronted, not sanctified.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that honoring God requires protecting a leader's reputation at the expense of truth or the vulnerable. Romans 2 and James 2 expose religious status that masks dishonor.
- Do not claim that every experience of disgrace proves persecution for Christ. Acts 5 concerns suffering directly tied to faithful witness to Jesus.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To treat someone with contempt or public shame, stripping them of honor and dignity
Strong's G818
Lexical occurrences 7 verses Greek text appearances 6 times Word forms 3 forms 7 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Mark 12:4 Source Gloss
to dishonor
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To treat someone with contempt or public shame, stripping them of honor and dignity
(ἄτιμος), [in LXX for בּוּז, קָלָה, etc. ;] to dishonour, insult: Mrk.12:4, TTr., mg., WH, Luk.20:11, Jhn.8:49, Rom.2:23, Jas.2:6; pass.: Act.5:41, Rom.1:24 (cf ἀτιμάω).
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 20:11 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀτιμάσαντες, atimasantev
I disgrace, dishonor
Read verse John 8:49 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Indicative
ἀτιμάζετέ atimazete
I disgrace, dishonor
Read verse Acts 5:41 Verb Aorist Passive Infinitive
ἀτιμασθῆναι. atimasqhnai
I disgrace, dishonor
Read verse Romans 1:24 Verb Present Middle or Passive Infinitive
ἀτιμάζεσθαι atimazesqai
I disgrace, dishonor
Read verse Romans 2:23 Verb Second Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἀτιμάζεις; atimazeiv
I disgrace, dishonor
Read verse James 2:6 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἠτιμάσατε htimasate
I disgrace, dishonor
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 3 Aligned forms 7 Tenses Aorist, Present Voices Active, Passive, Middle
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 4×
Aorist Active Mark 12:4 · Jas 2:6 2×
Present Active John 8:49 · Rom 2:23 2×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 1×
Aorist Active Luke 20:11 1×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 2×
Aorist Passive Acts 5:41 1×
Present Middle Rom 1:24 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 6 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 3 present 3
Voice
active 4 passive 1 middle 1
Mood
indicative 4 infinitive 2
NT Occurrences
Mark 12:4 ἠτίμασαν aorist active indicative completed John 8:49 ἀτιμάζετέ present active indicative ongoing Acts 5:41 ἀτιμασθῆναι aorist passive infinitive infinitive Romans 1:24 ἀτιμάζεσθαι present middle infinitive infinitive Romans 2:23 ἀτιμάζεις present active indicative ongoing James 2:6 ἠτιμάσατε aorist active indicative completed
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
to treat someone with physical violence and public contempt
to violate God's law and thereby insult His authority and holiness
passive voice, to be subjected to public humiliation and disgrace for faith
to treat poor believers with scorn and social degradation based on wealth disparity
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 7 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἀτιμάζω is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
The passages using ἀτιμάζω expose several ways honor can be inverted. Jesus' opponents dishonor the Son while He honors the Father. Romans 2 confronts religious boasting contradicted by conduct, and James 2 names contempt for the poor inside an assembly. Acts 5 shows that disgrace imposed because of faithful witness does not determine the apostles' standing before God.
Teaching the verb should preserve those differences. It can help a church resist status games and remain faithful under opposition, but it cannot turn every accusation into persecution or every humiliation into a Christian duty. Truthful accountability and protection of vulnerable people remain compatible with biblical honor.
Anchor passage
John.8.49
Doctrinal connections
- John 5:19-30 - honoring the Son and the Father
- John 8:42-59 - the Son's origin and contested identity
- Acts 5:27-42 - disgrace for the Name
- James 2:1-13 - favoritism and dishonoring the poor
The verb is formed from the honor word group with a negating element and can mean to dishonor or disgrace. That formation supplies a broad contrast, but the context determines whether the object is God, Jesus, a person, or the body and why the treatment is wrong.
From Old to New Testament
Canonical parallelPastoral applicationLexical sourcePassage context
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain