κατεργάζομαι (katergazomai)
katergazomai
to workout/produce
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 22 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The verb katergazomai means to work something out to its full conclusion, emphasizing the final result rather than just the effort involved. It is an emphatic form of ergazomai, carrying the sense of achieving or bringing about a specific outcome through labor. In the New Testament, it appears twenty-two times, with a heavy concentration in Paul’s letters, particularly Romans and 2 Corinthians.
Its range covers both positive spiritual realities and negative human actions. Paul uses it to describe how God produces good in believers (Romans 7:13) or how trials develop perseverance (James 1:3). He also speaks of Christians working out their salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). Conversely, the word describes those who produce evil deeds or sinful passions (Romans 1:27; 1 Corinthians 5:3).
The prefix kata intensifies the root ergon (work), suggesting a thoroughness that leaves nothing undone. This distinction is visible in how translators render it: sometimes as "wrought" or "accomplished," other times simply "do" or "produce." The word captures a dynamic process that moves from intention to finished reality, whether that reality is spiritual maturity or moral failure.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
This word carries a sense of thorough completion. It is not merely about starting a task or making an effort; it is about bringing something to its intended end. When we read that suffering produces perseverance, we see God at work in the details of our lives. He does not leave our struggles unfinished. Instead, He uses them to shape character and deepen faith, moving from initial pain to mature strength.
Even in our daily obedience, this word reminds us that our actions have weight and consequence. Whether it is working out our salvation with care or seeing God’s grace produce thanksgiving in others, the focus remains on the final fruit. We are invited to trust that what begins in small acts of faithfulness will reach its full expression in time.
There is comfort in knowing that God’s work in us is complete and purposeful. He does not abandon the process halfway. Whether through trials or through simple acts of generosity, He brings about results that glorify Him and sustain us. We can rest in the assurance that our labor in the Lord is never in vain.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 22 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- produces2×
- working out,1×
- who do1×
- were performed1×
- to have carried out1×
- to do1×
- produces.1×
- produces,1×
- it produced1×
- is working out1×
- is working1×
- is producing1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- κατεργάζομαι3×
- κατεργάζεται3×
- κατειργάσατο3×
- κατεργάζεται·1×
- κατεργάζεται.1×
- κατεργάζεται,1×
- κατεργάζεσθε·1×
- κατεργάζεσθαι1×
- κατεργασάμενος1×
- κατεργασάμενον1×
- κατεργασάμενοι1×
- κατεργαζόμενοι,1×
Key Verses
-
Romans 5:3
Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance;
This verse shows how God uses suffering not as an end in itself, but as a means to produce the finished quality of perseverance.
-
Philippians 2:12
So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Here the word urges believers to actively bring their salvation to its practical outworking in daily life with reverence.
-
II Corinthians 4:17
For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory,
It highlights how temporary afflictions are worked into a lasting and heavy weight of eternal glory.
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Romans 7:13
Did then that which is good become death to me? May it never be! But sin, that it might be shown to be sin, was producing death in me through that which is good; that through the commandment sin might become exceedingly sinful.
This occurrence illustrates the dark side of the word, showing how sin uses the good law to produce death in us.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does katergazomai mean in the New Testament?
How is katergazomai different from ergazomai?
Where does this word appear most frequently?
Every Occurrence (22 verses across 7 books)
Romans 11 verses
Likewise also the men, leaving the natural function of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another, men doing…
Romans 2:9oppression, and anguish on every soul of man who does evil, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Romans 4:15For the law produces wrath; for where there is no law, neither is there disobedience.
Romans 5:3Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance;
Romans 7:8But sin, finding occasion through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of coveting. For apart from the law, sin is…
Romans 7:13Did then that which is good become death to me? May it never be! But sin, that it might be shown to be sin, was…
Romans 7:15For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I desire to do; but what I hate, that I do.
Romans 7:17So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.
Romans 7:18For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don’t find it…
Romans 7:20But if what I don’t desire, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.
Romans 15:18For I will not dare to speak of any things except those which Christ worked through me for the obedience of the…