A verb meaning to condemn, pass judgment against, or pronounce guilty. It is the judicial act of rendering a negative verdict. It appears in Jesus's teachings about judgment, in Paul's arguments about justification, and in the legal proceedings of the passion narrative.
Katakrino and its related noun illuminate the legal heart of the gospel. The entire biblical story includes the drama of divine judgment: will humanity be condemned or acquitted? Jesus's words 'Do not judge, or you too will be judged' are not a prohibition of moral discernment but a warning against usurping God's role as ultimate judge. More profoundly, Jesus himself submitted to human condemnation so that those who deserve divine condemnation might go free. John 3:17 is the good news: 'God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.' The Judge became the judged.