To prepare
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Hetoimazo means to prepare, make ready, arrange, or provide in advance. Matthew applies it to preparing the Lord's way, places in the kingdom assigned by the Father, a wedding feast made ready, the kingdom prepared for the blessed, and eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἑτοιμάζω (G2090) · Open the biblical lexicon
Hetoimazo means to prepare, make ready, arrange, or provide in advance. Matthew applies it to preparing the Lord's way, places in the kingdom assigned by the Father, a wedding feast made ready, the kingdom prepared for the blessed, and eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
The BSB source-word alignment has 40 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Prepare (8), prepared (6), to prepare (3), Make preparations (2), they prepared (2).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 3:3. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (14), Matthew (7), Revelation (7), Mark (5).
Hetoimazo means to prepare, make ready, arrange, or provide in advance. Matthew applies it to preparing the Lord's way, places in the kingdom assigned by the Father, a wedding feast made ready, the kingdom prepared for the blessed, and eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Preparation may be human obedience, divine provision, or judicial appointment; the verb itself does not decide who prepares or whether the outcome is welcome.
John prepares people through repentance, the king provides a feast, and the final judgment reveals destinies within God's righteous rule. Churches should prepare through truthful teaching, practical readiness, mercy, and repentance, not anxiety, stockpiling, or leaders claiming secret knowledge of assigned places and times.
Hetoimazo names purposeful readiness. Matthew moves from preparing the Lord's path to divinely assigned kingdom places, a ready feast, and final destinations prepared within judgment.
This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”
Matthew 3:3 cites the wilderness voice: prepare the Lord's way and make His paths straight. John's ministry calls for repentant readiness for Jesus.
“You will indeed drink My cup,” Jesus said. “But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom My Father has prepared them.”
Matthew 20:23 says seats at Jesus' right and left are for those for whom the Father has prepared them. Ambition yields to divine authority and the cup of suffering.
Again, he sent other servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
Matthew 22:4 says the wedding banquet is prepared, with animals slaughtered and everything ready, yet invited guests refuse the summons. Provision does not compel reception.
Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Matthew 25:34 invites the blessed to inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world, after their mercy toward the needy is revealed.
Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Matthew 25:41 speaks of eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels as the goats face judgment for neglecting the least.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Making ready through deliberate action; often divine preparation of future blessings, judgment, or messianic fulfillment.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 40 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I make ready, prepare
Read verseI make ready, prepare
Read verseI make ready, prepare
Read verseI make ready, prepare
Read verseI make ready, prepare
Read verseI make ready, prepare
Read verseI make ready, prepare
Read verseI make ready, prepare
Read verseI make ready, prepare
Read verseI make ready, prepare
Read verseI make ready, prepare
Read verseI make ready, prepare
Read verseI make ready, prepare
Read verseI make ready, prepare
Read verseI make ready, prepare
Read verseI make ready, prepare
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.
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.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
How this verb appears across 39 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
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 passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 40 lexical occurrence verses.
ἑτοιμάζω is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Hetoimazo presents preparation as purposeful alignment with what is coming. John does not build a road with tools; he calls people to repent before the arriving Lord. The wedding king makes a feast genuinely ready, yet invited people can refuse it. Jesus denies disciples control over prepared seats of honor, placing appointment with the Father. Matthew 25 holds promise and judgment together: the kingdom is prepared from the world's foundation, while fire is prepared for the devil and his angels, and human response is exposed through treatment of the least.
Churches should prepare people by proclaiming Christ, practicing mercy, repairing wrong, and organizing faithful care. Panic, date-setting, and privileged claims about heavenly rank are counterfeits of readiness.
Matt.3.3
Hetoimazo means prepare, make ready, arrange, or provide. Its subject, object, recipient, and purpose determine whether preparation is material, relational, ministerial, or eschatological.
Israel prepares to meet God, servants prepare covenant meals, prophets prepare a highway for the Lord, and royal banquets portray generous provision and accountable invitation.