'Ready' in the Bible

So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly, get ready three measures of fine meal, knead it and bake cakes.”

Then he took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before the men; and he stood beside them under the tree while they ate.

And Laban said, “Come in, blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside since I have made the house ready and have prepared a place for the camels?”

When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and kill an animal and make [a meal] ready; for the men will dine with me at noon.”

So they prepared the present [of tribute] for Joseph before his arrival at noon; for they had heard that they were to eat a meal there.

Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen; as soon as he presented himself before him (authenticating his identity), he fell on his [father’s] neck and wept on his neck a [very] long time.

So Pharaoh harnessed horses to his war-chariots [for battle] and took his army with him;

So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

and be ready by the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai [in the cloud] in the sight of all the people.

He said to the people, “Be prepared for the third day; do not be intimate with a woman.”

So be ready by morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain.

Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the wickedness of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat [the scapegoat, the sin-bearer], and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is prepared [for the task].

but we will be armed and ready to go to war before the [other tribes of the] Israelites, until we have brought them to their place, while our children live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

And you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘My father [Jacob] was a wandering Aramean, and he [along with his family] went down to Egypt and lived there [as strangers], few in number; but while there he became a great, mighty and populous nation.

He commanded them, saying, “Listen closely, you are going to lie in wait and ambush the city from behind it. Do not go very far away from the city, but all of you be ready.

The Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Though you detain me, I will not eat your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.” For Manoah did not know that he was the Angel of the Lord.

The king’s servants said to him, “Listen, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king decides.”

While it was being built, the house was built of stone prepared and finished (precut) at the quarry, and no hammer, axe, or iron tool of any kind was heard in the house while it was under construction.

Then Joram said, “Harness [the chariot].” When they harnessed his chariot horses, Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu and met him on the property of Naboth the Jezreelite.

The sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh—valiant men able to bear shield and sword, and to shoot with the bow, and skillful in war—were 44,760 who went to war.

Moreover, we have prepared and consecrated all the utensils which King Ahaz had discarded during his reign in his unfaithfulness; and behold, they are in front of the altar of the Lord.”

When the service was ready, the priests stood in their [assigned] places and the Levites by their divisions, in accordance with the king’s command.

“They refused to listen and obey,And did not remember Your wondrous acts which You had performed among them;So they stiffened their necks and [in their rebellion] appointed a leader in order to return them to slavery in Egypt.But You are a God of forgiveness,Gracious and merciful and compassionate,Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness;And You did not abandon them.

A copy of the edict to be decreed as law in every province was published to all the peoples, so that they would be ready for this day.

A copy of the edict was to be issued as a law in every province and as a proclamation to all peoples, so that the Jews would be ready on that day, to avenge themselves on their enemies.

“He who is at ease has contempt for misfortune,But misfortune is ready [and anxiously waiting] for those whose feet slip.

“Distress and anxiety terrify him,They overpower him like a king ready for battle.

“My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished,The grave is ready for me.

“The strength [of the wicked] is famished and weakened,And disaster is ready at his side [if he stops].

“My belly is like unvented wine;Like new wineskins it is about to burst.

And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water,Which yields its fruit in its season;Its leaf does not wither;And in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity].

If a man does not repent, God will sharpen His sword;He has strung and bent His [mighty] bow and made it ready.

For look, the wicked are bending the bow;They take aim with their arrow on the stringTo shoot [by stealth] in darkness at the upright in heart.

For I am ready to fall;My sorrow is continually before me.

My heart overflows with a good theme;I address my psalm to the King.My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.

Surely His salvation is near to those who [reverently] fear Him [and obey Him with submissive wonder],That glory [the manifest presence of God] may dwell in our land.

For You, O Lord, are good, and ready to forgive [our sins, sending them away, completely letting them go forever and ever];And abundant in lovingkindness and overflowing in mercy to all those who call upon You.

Because the man did not remember to show kindness,But persecuted the suffering and needy man,And the brokenhearted, to put them to death.

Let Your hand be ready to help me,For I have chosen Your precepts.

Prepare your work outsideAnd get it ready for yourself in the field;Afterward build your house and establish a home.

Give strong drink [as medicine] to him who is ready to pass away,And wine to him whose life is bitter.

It will come to pass in that day that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost and perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

Therefore this wickedness [this sin, this injustice, this wrongdoing] will be to youLike a crack [in a wall] about to fall,A bulge in a high wall,Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant,

For Topheth [in Hinnom] has long been ready;Indeed, it has been prepared for the [Assyrian] king.He has made it deep and wide,A pit of fire with plenty of wood;The breath of the Lord, like a river of brimstone (blazing sulfur), kindles and fans it.

“The Lord is ready to save me;Therefore we will play my songs on stringed instrumentsAll the days of our lives at the house of the Lord.”

“Lift up your eyes and look around [at the returning exiles];All these gather together and they come to you [to rebuild you].As I live,” declares the Lord,“You [Zion] will indeed clothe yourself with all of them as jewels and tie them on as a bride.

That you have forgotten the Lord your Maker,Who stretched out the heavensAnd laid the foundations of the earth,That you continually tremble with fear all day long because of the rage of the oppressor,As he takes aim to destroy?And where is the rage of the oppressor?

Strangers will stand and feed your flocks,And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.

“I let Myself be sought by those who did not ask for Me;I let Myself be found by those who did not seek Me.I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’To the nation [Israel] which did not call on My Name.

“Declare in Egypt and proclaim in Migdol,And proclaim in Memphis and in Tahpanhes;Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready,For the sword has devoured those around you.’

“They seize their bow and spear;They are cruel and have no compassion.They sound like the roaring of the sea;They ride on horses,Every man equipped like a man [ready] for the battleAgainst you, O Daughter of Babylon.

Then you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared and prophesy against it.

‘They have blown the trumpet and have made everything ready, but no one is going to the battle, for My wrath is against all their multitude [of people].

Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image which I have made, very good. But if you do not worship, you shall be thrown at once into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can rescue you out of my hands?”

Therefore the Lord has kept the tragedy ready and has brought it on us, for the Lord our God is [uncompromisingly] righteous and openly just in all His works which He does—He keeps His word; and we have not obeyed His voice.

As they approach their plotting,Their mind burns [with intrigue] like an oven [while they lie in wait].Their anger smolders all night;In the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.

Draw water for a [long, continued] siege!Strengthen your fortresses!Go down to the clay pits, trample the mortar!Prepare the brick kiln [to burn bricks for the rampart]!

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].”

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

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].

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.

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.

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].

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.]

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].

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.

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];