The Beatitudes
The Beatitudes are the blessings Jesus spoke at the start of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:3-12. Each begins with "Blessed are" and pairs a kind of person, such as the poor in spirit, the meek or the merciful, with a promise from God.
Matthew 5:1 sets the scene: "seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain", and when he sat down his disciples came to him. The Beatitudes open the teaching that runs through Matthew 5, 6 and 7.
Most people count eight Beatitudes in verses 3-10. Verses 11-12 turn from they to ye and speak to the disciples directly, so some count them as a ninth. All of them are listed below in the King James wording.
The Beatitudes in order
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
The poor in spirit are those who know they have nothing to offer God on their own. The first and eighth Beatitudes share the same promise.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted
Many readers take this mourning to include sorrow over sin as well as grief. The promise is comfort, not that the sorrow was never real.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth
This echoes Psalm 37:11, "the meek shall inherit the earth". Meekness is gentle, humble strength.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled
Wanting to be right with God and to see right done as badly as a hungry person wants food. The promise is to be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy
The promise mirrors the quality: the merciful obtain mercy. Jesus returns to the idea in Matthew 6:14-15 on forgiving others.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God
Purity of heart means an undivided, sincere inner life, not just clean outward behaviour.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God
Not only those who keep the peace but those who make it between others. They bear the family likeness of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
The persecution has to be for doing right. The promise repeats the first Beatitude, closing the eight like bookends.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you
Jesus now speaks to his hearers as ye and adds "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad", because the prophets before them were treated the same way.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Matthew 5:11-12
The Beatitudes in Luke 6
Luke 6:20-23 records a shorter set of blessings, spoken after Jesus came down and "stood in the plain" (Luke 6:17). There are four, spoken directly to the hearers: "Blessed be ye poor", blessed are ye that hunger now, blessed are ye that weep now, and blessed are ye when men hate you.
Luke then adds four woes that mirror them: "woe unto you that are rich", that are full, that laugh now, and when all men speak well of you (Luke 6:24-26). Readers have long discussed whether Luke and Matthew record one sermon or similar teaching given more than once; the texts themselves do not say.
What does beatitude mean?
The word beatitude is not in the KJV. It comes from the Latin beatus, blessed, the word the Latin Bible used at the start of each line. Blessed here means truly happy or favoured by God, whatever things look like on the outside.
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3 · KJV
How well do you know The Beatitudes?
9 questions, every answer checked against the King James text. Play it here, then try a full book quiz.
Common questions
Where are the Beatitudes in the Bible?
In Matthew 5:3-12, at the start of the Sermon on the Mount. A shorter set appears in Luke 6:20-23.
How many Beatitudes are there?
Most count eight, in Matthew 5:3-10. Some count nine by including verses 11-12, where Jesus speaks to his hearers directly.
What is the first Beatitude?
"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3).
What does blessed mean in the Beatitudes?
It means truly happy or favoured by God. The blessing rests on God's promise, not on how the person's life looks at the moment.
Who was Jesus speaking to in the Beatitudes?
Matthew 5:1-2 says that when Jesus sat down on the mountain, his disciples came to him, "and he opened his mouth, and taught them". Matthew 7:28 says the people were astonished at his doctrine, so the crowds heard it too.
100 Roots in Scripture
Every verse in its own language, in its own place
Words like blessed and meek carry more in the Greek than they do in English, and 100 Roots in Scripture explains the original words behind famous verses like these.
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