I fed you with milk, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Even now you are still not ready.

This is the one of whom it is written [by the prophet Malachi],

‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’

He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things;

Therefore, you [who follow Me] must also be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.

[Accordingly] the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.

As it is written and forever remains in the [writings of the] prophet Isaiah:

“Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You,
Who will prepare Your way—

But when the crop ripens, he immediately puts in the sickle [to reap], because [the time for] the harvest has come.”

He will show you a large upstairs room, furnished and ready [with carpets and dining couches]; prepare [the supper] for us there.”

It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous [which is to seek and submit to the will of God]—in order to make ready a people [perfectly] prepared [spiritually and morally] for the Lord.”

“And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on before the Lord (the Messiah) to prepare His ways;

This is the one of whom it is written [by the prophet Malachi],

‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’

He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went into a Samaritan village to make arrangements for Him;

You too, be continually ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”

And that servant who knew his master’s will, and yet did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will be beaten with many lashes [of the whip],

and at the dinner hour he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is ready now.’

Will he not instead say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and appropriately clothe yourself [for service] and serve me while I eat and drink; then afterward you may eat and drink?’

But keep alert at all times [be attentive and ready], praying that you may have the strength and ability [to be found worthy and] to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man [at His coming].”

They left and found it just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

And Peter said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death!”

Then they went back and prepared spices and ointments and sweet-smelling herbs.

And on the Sabbath they rested in accordance with the commandment [forbidding work].

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women went to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared [to finish anointing the body].

So Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come; but any time is right for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.

Now these people were more noble and open-minded than those in Thessalonica, so they received the message [of salvation through faith in the Christ] with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

So now you, along with the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), notify the commander to bring Paul down to you, as if you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly. But we are ready to kill him before he comes near [the place].”

But do not listen to them, for more than forty of them are lying in wait for him, and they have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. Even now they are ready, just waiting for your promise.”

Then summoning two of the centurions, he said, “Have two hundred soldiers ready by the third hour of the night (9:00 p.m.) to go as far as Caesarea, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen;

After they had interrogated me, they were ready to release me because I was not guilty of any offense deserving death.

So, for my part, I am ready and eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

but just as it is written [in Scripture],“Things which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, who obey Him, and who gratefully recognize the benefits that He has bestowed].”

Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening].

Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share [with others].

For this reason I [am ready to] patiently endure all things for the sake of those who are the elect (God’s chosen ones), so that they too may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it the reward of eternal glory.

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things [which are dishonorable—disobedient, sinful], he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified [set apart for a special purpose and], useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

preach the word [as an official messenger]; be ready when the time is right and even when it is not [keep your sense of urgency, whether the opportunity seems favorable or unfavorable, whether convenient or inconvenient, whether welcome or unwelcome]; correct [those who err in doctrine or behavior], warn [those who sin], exhort and encourage [those who are growing toward spiritual maturity], with inexhaustible patience and [faithful] teaching.

not addicted to wine, not a bully nor quick-tempered and hot-headed, but gentle and considerate, free from the love of money [not greedy for wealth and its inherent power—financially ethical].

Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving];

who are being protected and shielded by the power of God through your faith for salvation that is ready to be revealed [for you] in the last time.

Therefore, when Christ enters into the world, He says,

“Sacrifice and offering You have not desired,
But [instead] You have prepared a body for Me [to offer];

By faith Abraham, when he was tested [that is, as the testing of his faith was still in progress], offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises [of God] was ready to sacrifice his only son [of promise];

But in your hearts set Christ apart [as holy—acknowledging Him, giving Him first place in your lives] as Lord. Always be ready to give a [logical] defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope and confident assurance [elicited by faith] that is within you, yet [do it] with gentleness and respect.

But they will [have to] give an account to Him who is ready to judge and pass sentence on the living and the dead.

Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for [the coming of] the kings from the east.

I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]

For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].

Now for the third time I am ready to visit you. I will not burden you [financially], because I do not want what is yours [not your money or your possessions], but you. For children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.

So then, was I indecisive or capricious when I was [originally] planning this? Or the things I plan, do I plan in a self-serving way like a worldly man, ready to say, “Yes, yes” and “No, no” [at the same time]?

Still, I am sending the brothers [on to you], so that our pride in you may not be an empty boast in this case, and so that you may be prepared, just as I told them you would be;

That is why I thought it necessary to urge these brothers to go to you [before I come] and make arrangements in advance for this generous, previously promised gift of yours, so that it would be ready, not as something extorted [or wrung out of you], but as a [voluntary and] generous gift.