Original Word: μετεωρίζω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: meteórizó
Pronunciation: met-eh-o-RID-zo
Phonetic Spelling: (met-eh-o-rid'-zo)
KJV: be of doubtful mind
NASB: worrying
Word Origin: [from a compound of G3326 (μετά - after) and a collateral form of G142 (αἴρω - take) or perhaps rather G109 (ἀήρ - air)]

1. to raise in mid-air
2. (figuratively) suspend (passively, fluctuate or be anxious)

to be anxious, worried

From a compound of meta and a collateral form of airo or perhaps rather aer (compare "meteor"); to raise in mid-air, i.e. (figuratively) suspend (passively, fluctuate or be anxious) -- be of doubtful mind.

see GREEK meta

see GREEK airo

see GREEK aer

3349 meteōrízō– properly, suspended in mid-air; (figuratively) to shift from one "conviction" to another; vacillating (wavering), like a person living "suspended" in anxiety (used only in Lk 12:29).

[3349 (meteōrízō) literally means "suspended in midair," and is the root of the English term "meteor."]

Word Origin
from meteóros (buoyed up)
Definition
to raise on high, fig. to be in suspense
NASB Translation
worrying (1).

STRONGS NT 3349: μετεωρίζω

μετεωρίζω: (present imperative passive 2 person plural μετεωρίζεσθε; (see below)); (from μετέωρος in mid-air, high; raised on high; metaphorically,

a. elated with hope, Diodorus 13, 46; lofty, proud, Polybius 3, 82, 2; 16, 21, 2; the Sept. Isaiah 5:15.

b. wavering in mind, unsteady, doubtful, in suspense: Polybius 21, 10, 11; Josephus, Antiquities 8, 8, 2; b. j. 4, 2, 5; Cicero, ad Att. 5, 11, 5; 15, 14; hence, μετεωρίζω);

1. properly, to raise on high (as ναῦν εἰς τό πέλαγος, to put a ship (out to sea) up upon the deep, Latinpropellere in altum, Philostr. v. Revelation 6, 12, 3 (cf. Thucydides 8, 16, 2); τό ἔρυμα, to raise fortifications, Thucydides 4, 90): ἑαυτόν, of birds, Aelian h. a. 11, 33; passive μετεωρίζεσθαι ἤ καπνόν ἤ κονιορτόν; Xenophon, Cyril 6, 3, 5; of the wind, ἄνεμος ξηρός μετεωρισθεις, Aristophanes nub. 404; and many other examples also in secular authors; in the Sept. cf. Micah 4:1; Ezekiel 10:16; Obadiah 1:4.

2. metaphorically,

a. to lift up one's soul, raise his spirits; to buoy up with hope; to inflate with pride: Polybius 26, 5, 4; 24, 3, 6 etc.; joined with φυσαν, Demosthenes, p. 169, 23; Philo, vit. Moys. i. § 35; (quis rer. div. her. § 14, 51; cong. erud. grat. § 23); passive to be elated; to take on airs, be puffed up with pride: Aristophanes av. 1447; often in Polybius; Diodorus 11, 32, 41; 16, 18 etc.; Psalm 130:1 (); 2 Macc. 7:34; with the addition of τήν διάνοιαν, 2 Macc. 5:17. Hence, μή μετεωρίζεσθε, Luke 12:29, some (following the Vulg.nolite in sublime tolli) think should be interpreted, do not exalt yourselves, do not seek great things (Luth.fahret nicht hoch her); but this explanation does not suit the preceding context.

b. by a metaphor taken front ships that are tossed about on the deep by winds and waves, to cause one to waver or fluctuate in mind, Polybius 5, 70, 10; to agitate or harass with cares to render anxious: Philo de monarch. § 6; Schol. ad Sophocles Oed. Tyr. 914; ad Euripides, Or. 1537; hence, Luke 12:29 agreeably to its connection is best explained, neither be ye anxious, or and waver not between hope and fear (A. V. neither be ye of doubtful mind (with marginal reading Or, live not in careful suspense)). Kuinoel on Luke, the passage cited discusses the word at length; and numerous examples from Philo are given in Loesner, Observations, p. 115ff

Definition and Semantic Range

The verb translated “be worried” or “be anxious” in Luke 12:29 portrays a mind lifted off the solid ground of faith and left hanging in mid-air, vulnerable to every gust of uncertainty. It evokes the picture of something tossed about above the earth, never settling, never at rest. In Scripture this mental state is the opposite of steady trust in God’s sovereign care.

Biblical Usage

Only Luke 12:29 contains the word, embedded in Jesus’ call to fearless reliance on the Father: “And do not seek what you will eat or what you will drink. Do not be worried” (Berean Standard Bible). The surrounding passage (Luke 12:22-34) parallels Matthew 6:25-34, where the same theme is developed with a different Greek term (merimnaō). The unique verb in Luke intensifies the warning, urging disciples not merely to avoid fretting but to refuse the mental altitude that invites spiritual vertigo.

Theological Significance

1. Faith versus Suspended Reasoning: Suspended thought life signals defective faith. God does not command mindlessness; He demands that believers anchor every thought to His providence (2 Corinthians 10:5).
2. Kingdom Priority: Luke 12:31 places seeking God’s reign above material concerns. Worry displaces Kingdom focus by elevating created needs over the Creator.
3. Divine Fatherhood: The prohibition rests on the certainty that “your Father knows that you need them” (Luke 12:30). Anxiety insults divine omniscience and goodness.

Historical and Cultural Background

In the first-century Mediterranean world daily bread was genuinely precarious. Crop failures, taxation, and political turbulence intensified common fears about food and clothing. Jesus spoke in Galilee, where fishermen anxiously scanned the skies for sudden storms—an apt backdrop for imagery of minds blown about in the air. His command therefore cut against the grain of everyday survival instincts, calling listeners to a radical dependence seldom practiced outside the prophetic tradition of Elijah’s wilderness provision.

Pastoral and Practical Application

• Spiritual Diagnostics: Persistent mental agitation reveals misplaced trust. Believers do well to confess anxiety as unbelief rather than excuse it as temperament.
• Prayerful Reorientation: Philippians 4:6-7 prescribes prayer, petition, and thanksgiving as the antidote to suspenseful thinking, promising “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.”
• Stewardship, Not Stoicism: Jesus does not abolish responsible labor (2 Thessalonians 3:10) but liberates laborers from the tyranny of imagined catastrophes.
• Community Witness: A settled spirit testifies to the reality of the Father’s care, attracting the worried world to Christ (Matthew 5:16).

Related Concepts and Scriptures

• Merimnaō (“to worry”)—Matthew 6:31; 1 Peter 5:7.
• Akribēs (“carefully”)—Ephesians 5:15, the contrasting call to alert, grounded mindfulness.
• Dipsochos (“double-minded”)—James 1:8, the instability produced when faith and doubt coexist.
• Shalom (Old Testament)—Numbers 6:26; Isaiah 26:3, the settled wholeness promised to those whose minds stay on God.

Christological Implications

Jesus embodies the antidote to mental suspension. He slept through a storm (Mark 4:38), fed multitudes without visible supply (John 6:1-13), and entrusted His spirit to the Father at the cross (Luke 23:46). His resurrection vindicates the wisdom of resting in God’s provision, assuring believers that not even death can sever the Father’s care.

Conclusion

Strong’s Greek 3349 confronts the heart with a vivid choice: live lofted in restless speculation or grounded in the Father’s unwavering faithfulness. Luke 12:29 stakes that choice in the very words of Jesus, inviting every generation of disciples to come down from the winds of worry and stand firm in the Kingdom that cannot be shaken.

εμετεωρίζοντο εμετεωρίσθησαν μετέωρα μετεωρίζεσθαι μετεωριζεσθε μετεωρίζεσθε μετεωρισθής μετεωρισθήσεται μετεωρισμοί μετεωρισμούς μετέωροι μετέωρον μετέωρος μετεώρου μετεώρω μετεώρων meteorizesthe meteorízesthe meteōrizesthe meteōrízestheInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts