The Greek verb katesthio combines kata (down, completely) and esthio (to eat), meaning 'to eat up, devour, or consume completely.' It appears about 14 times in the New Testament in both literal and metaphorical senses — including the consuming of resources, the destruction of enemies, and the spiritual danger of being devoured.
Katesthio appears in some of Jesus' most pointed teachings. In the parable of the prodigal son, the father's wealth is 'devoured' (katephagen) by the younger son's reckless living (Luke 15:30). In the parable of the great banquet, the unworthy guests who received the first invitation had various excuses, but the invited rich were replaced by the poor and outcast. Jesus rebukes the scribes for 'devouring' (katesthiontes) widows' houses while making long prayers (Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47) — one of the strongest condemnations in the Gospels. Religious exploitation of the vulnerable is, in Jesus' eyes, being devoured by those who should be protectors. Paul warns the Galatians: 'If you bite and devour (katesthiete) each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other' (Galatians 5:15) — a vivid warning that internal church conflict is self-destructive cannibalism. Peter's metaphor of the devil as a 'roaring lion looking for someone to devour' (1 Peter 5:8, using katapino) completes the picture: deception and division are the devil's teeth.