“Stay dressed for action”
Luke 12:35
IdiomSettledJesus
Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning. (Luke 12:35 BSB)
* Literally 'let your loins be girded,' tucking up the long robe so you can work or run.
What it sounds like today
The BSB smooths over an idiom that older Bibles kept: 'Let your loins be girded.'
The cultural key
Everyday dress was a long robe; for work, travel, or battle you 'girded your loins,' hitching the hem up into the belt to free the legs. It is the posture God commanded for the first Passover: 'you shall eat it with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand… in haste' (Exodus 12:11). Ready to move the moment the word comes.
Recovered meaning
Live permanently in Passover posture: robe tucked, lamp lit, packed for departure. Disciples are night staff awaiting a master whose knock could come at any watch, and the blessing falls on those found ready.
Parallels: Exodus 12:11; 1 Peter 1:13