ἀρτύω (artuō)
artuō
to season
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 3 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The verb artuō means to prepare or arrange food, specifically by seasoning it to enhance its flavor. In the New Testament, it appears only three times, linking culinary practice with spiritual instruction. Mark 9:50 and Luke 14:34 use the image of salt losing its taste to warn against faith that has lost its distinctiveness, while Colossians 4:6 applies the concept to speech, urging believers to let their words be "seasoned with grace."
Its root sense involves making something ready or palatable. The sources note this usage aligns with ancient comic writers who described preparing a meal. Translators often render it as "season," which captures the idea of adding value and interest. Just as salt preserves and flavors food, gracious speech preserves relationships and makes communication enjoyable for others.
This word highlights how everyday activities serve as metaphors for moral life. The preparation of food becomes a picture for preparing one’s character and interactions. It suggests that faithfulness requires active effort to maintain quality and appeal in both personal conduct and social engagement.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
When Jesus spoke about salt losing its flavor, He used a common kitchen reality to describe spiritual vitality. The Greek word artuō points to the act of seasoning, reminding us that faith is meant to enhance everything it touches. Just as salt brings out the best in food, our lives should bring out the best in those around us through genuine engagement and care.
This same idea appears in Colossians, where believers are urged to let their speech be seasoned with grace. It suggests that our words do not need to be complex or perfect, but they must be thoughtful and kind. This simple image invites us to consider how our daily interactions can reflect the goodness of God without effort or pretense.
Living this out means paying attention to the tone and content of our conversations. It is an invitation to make our communication palatable and helpful, rather than harsh or indifferent. By focusing on grace, we create space for peace and understanding in our relationships.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 3 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- will you season?1×
- will it be seasoned?1×
- seasoned,1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- ἠρτυμένος,1×
- ἀρτύσετε;1×
- ἀρτυθήσεται;1×
Key Verses
-
Mark 9:50
Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
This verse uses the word to warn that faith without distinctiveness becomes useless, just as salt that cannot season food.
-
Luke 14:34
“Salt is good, but if the salt becomes flat and tasteless, with what do you season it?
Here the term highlights the absurdity of trying to add flavor with something that has already lost its essential quality.
-
Colossians 4:6
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
The word shifts from food to speech, urging believers to make their words gracious and appealing to others.