Preparation (2091) (hetoimasia from hetoimos = ready, prepared) means readiness, fitness for, alacrity or preparedness. Preparation in the active sense of making ready. A state of preparedness whether external or internal (Ps 10:17). Note that hetoimasia can also signify a prepared foundation or base, as frequently used in the in Septuagint (LXX) (see several representative uses below). Here are some uses of hetoimasia which is found 10 times in the Septuagint (LXX)... Ezra 2:68 And some of the heads of fathers' households, when they arrived at the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem, offered willingly for the house of God to restore it on its foundation. (hetoimasia) Ezra 3:3 So they set up the altar on its foundation (hetoimasia), for they were terrified because of the peoples of the lands; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening. Psalm 89:14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation (hetoimasia) of Thy throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before Thee. Zechariah 5:11 Then he said to me, "To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared (hetoimasia), she will be set there on her own pedestal." Expositor's Greek Testament feels this means "readiness, preparedness of mind, the preparedness which comes from the Gospel whose message is peace." (Comment: This interpretation would be in agreement with the peace believers that they have with God because of the gospel being like a foundation providing firm footing in warfare.) (Ephesians 6 Commentary) Vincent writes that hetoimasia is found... Only here in the New Testament. The Roman soldier substituted for the greaves of the Greek (metal plates covering the lower part of the leg) the caligae or sandals, bound by thongs over the instep and round the ankle, and having the soles thickly studded with nails. They were not worn by the superior officers, so that the common soldiers were distinguished as caligati. Hetoimasia means readiness; but in Hellenistic Greek it was sometimes used in the sense of establishment or firm foundation, which would suit this passage: firm-footing. Compare Isa. 52:7. (Vincent, M. R. Word Studies in the New Testament 3:409) The Amplified Version chooses to translate this verse in a way that favors preparation as indicative of a firm foundation the Christian soldier now experiences as a result of the gospel of peace... And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace. (Amplified Bible - Lockman) Other versions translate it with a similar thought concerning hetoimasia... Barth “steadfast because the gospel of peace is strapped under your feet” New English Bible “to give you firm footing” NIV "and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace" Moffatt “and have shod your feet with the stability of the gospel of peace” Williams "to put on your feet the preparation the good new of peace supplies" Charles Ryrie agrees writing that... The gospel gives our feet (and lives) support and stability. (The Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Translation: 1995. Moody Publishers) Wayne Barber comments that... this Greek word (hetoimasia) refers to the basis, foundation or the firm footing of something. This implies a firm and solid understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ causes me to dig in. When the devil comes at me with deception, I have an understanding and am firmly fixed upon the truth of the gospel is. The "cleats" on the believer’s sandals provide a firm grasp on what the gospel of Jesus Christ is about, which Paul explains is a gospel of peace. (Discussion adapted from Wayne Barber's sermon) Take My Life and Let It Be Take my feet and let them be Swift and beautiful for Thee —Frances Ridley Havergal OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE: tou euaggeliou tes eirenes: (Isaiah 52:7; Romans 10:15; 2Corinthians 5:18, 19, 20, 21) A CONCISE DESCRIPTION OF THE GOSPEL 1Corinthians 15:1-5 Commentary 1 Now I make known to you [since it seems to have escaped you], brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain (does not teach that true believers are in danger of losing their salvation, but it is a warning against non—saving faith -- could be translated "unless your faith is worthless" -- holding fast was the result and evidence of genuine salvation). 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 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