Original Word: עֲתִיד
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: `athiyd
Pronunciation: ah-teed
Phonetic Spelling: (ath-eed')
KJV: ready
NASB: ready
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) corresponding to H6264 (עָתִידּ - ready)]

1. prepared

ready

(Aramaic) corresponding to athiyd; prepared -- ready.

see HEBREW athiyd

Word Origin
(Aramaic) corresponding to athid
Definition
ready
NASB Translation
ready (1).

Overview

Strong’s Hebrew 6263, עֲתִיד, appears once in the Old Testament, in Daniel 3:15, where it is rendered “ready.” The term describes a state of preparedness that is neither hesitant nor partial but immediate and decisive. Its lone occurrence nonetheless sheds light on the spiritual tension between coerced readiness to serve idolatry and steadfast readiness to honor the Lord alone.

Semantic Field of Readiness

The Scriptures frequently contrast two kinds of readiness:

1. Readiness rooted in fear of earthly power (Daniel 3:15; compare with Acts 5:29).
2. Readiness grounded in reverence for God (Exodus 12:11; Luke 12:35; 1 Peter 1:13).

עֲתִיד in Daniel 3:15 epitomizes the first category—an enforced availability to comply with a pagan command. By negative example, it underscores the moral imperative of the second: the believer’s voluntary and joyful preparedness to obey God.

Narrative Context in Daniel 3:15

“Now, if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the statue that I have made. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be thrown into the blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?” (Daniel 3:15)

Nebuchadnezzar’s threat establishes a crisis of allegiance. The king demands instant outward readiness; the three Hebrews display inward readiness to suffer loss rather than betray covenant faithfulness (Daniel 3:16-18). Their response clarifies that true readiness is measured not by speed to comply with human decree but by resolve to honor God whatever the temporal cost.

Historical Setting within the Neo-Babylonian Empire

The royal dedication of the golden image likely followed Nebuchadnezzar’s early military triumphs, a time of consolidating political unity through religious spectacle. Readiness to participate in empire-wide worship ceremonies functioned as a loyalty test. Against that backdrop, עֲתִיד magnifies the pressure upon exiles to exchange their God-given identity for civic expediency.

Imperial Authority Versus Covenant Loyalty

1. The idol’s summons demanded a bodily act—bowing.
2. The covenant’s summons demanded exclusive worship—“You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3).

The conflict reveals that being “ready” is not morally neutral; it serves either idolatry or the living God. The furnace that follows demonstrates God’s supremacy over imperial power and affirms that covenant loyalty is never futile (Daniel 3:24-30).

Biblical Theology of Readiness

Old and New Testament writers repeatedly call God’s people to be ready:

• Exodus 12:11 – Israel eats the Passover “with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand.”
• Isaiah 40:3 – A voice cries, “Prepare the way for the LORD.”
• Luke 12:35 – “Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning.”
• 1 Peter 3:15 – “Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you for the reason for the hope that is in you.”

Each text accents active expectancy—anticipating divine intervention rather than merely reacting to human command. Daniel 3 provides the narrative template; later exhortations supply pastoral application.

Christological Trajectory

Christ fulfills the pattern of faithful readiness by setting His face toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:51) and by saying in Gethsemane, “Not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). His obedience, culminating at the cross, assures believers that readiness to suffer for righteousness rests on a completed salvation, not on personal fortitude.

Pastoral and Discipleship Applications

1. Testing of faith often arrives unannounced; spiritual disciplines cultivate readiness before the trial emerges.
2. Corporate worship that exalts God alone fortifies believers against cultural pressures to bow to lesser allegiances.
3. Teaching on Daniel 3 should highlight both the immediacy of crises (“now… at the moment”) and the sufficiency of God’s presence (“a fourth man… like a son of the gods,” Daniel 3:25).

Worship and Liturgical Reflection

Nebuchadnezzar employed music to manipulate worship. The church redeems music by using it to exalt the Lord. Singing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Colossians 3:16) trains hearts to be “ready” for genuine doxology rather than coerced conformity.

Missional Implications

Believers living under authoritarian regimes or secularizing societies derive courage from Daniel’s narrative. Readiness to suffer loss for Christ becomes a testimony that “salvation is from the LORD” (Jonah 2:9). The martyr church throughout history echoes the three Hebrews, refusing to trade eternal glory for temporal safety.

Summary

Though עֲתִיד surfaces only once, its placement in Daniel 3:15 crystallizes a larger biblical theme: the heart’s orientation in the moment of decision. False readiness bends to idolatry; true readiness bows only to God. The word thereby invites every generation to examine whom it stands prepared to obey and to find, in the God who delivers from the furnace, both motive and power to remain faithful.

עֲתִידִ֗ין עתידין ‘ă·ṯî·ḏîn ‘ăṯîḏîn atiDinInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts