English 
Chinese 
Dutch 
Arabic 
Spanish 
Portuguese 
Russian 
French 
Italian 
German 
Japanese 
Continue reading with a subscription
Get unlimited access to all our premium content and exclusive features.
Enjoy unlimited access, cancel anytime.
Summary
- The Beatitudes are the eight blessings that open the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:3–10; verses 11–12, spoken straight to the listeners, are sometimes counted as a ninth.
- They bless people the world would call unlucky, the poor, the mourners, the hungry and the persecuted, and the first and last end with the same promise: “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
- “Blessed” translates the Greek makarios, “blessed, happy”, and the word “beatitude” comes from the Latin beātitūdō, “perfect happiness.”
- Several Beatitudes repeat the Old Testament: “the meek shall inherit the earth” is Psalm 37:11, and the poor and the mourners echo Isaiah 61:1–3.
- Luke 6:20–26 gives four blessings and four matching woes, and blesses “ye poor” where Matthew blesses “the poor in spirit.”
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church says “The Beatitudes are at the heart of Jesus’ preaching” (1716); most Orthodox churches sing them at the Divine Liturgy on normal Sundays, though not on feast days, and Augustine matched the first seven with the seven gifts of the Spirit in Isaiah 11:2–3.
- Catholic teaching, the Orthodox Church in America, Luther and Calvin all treat eternal life as God’s gift, though Catholic teaching and Calvin differ over merit.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- The Holy Bible, King James Version: Matthew 5:1–14; 6:33; 7:23, 28–29; 11:29; Luke 4:16–21; 6:17–26; 23:42; Isaiah 61:1–3; Psalm 1:1; 24:3–4; 37:11; Numbers 12:3; 2 Corinthians 7:10; 1 John 3:2; Revelation 21:4; and the Douay-Rheims Bible (1899 American edition) for Isaiah 11:2–3, via BibleGateway. Matthew 5:3–4 also compared in the SBL Greek New Testament, the Latin Vulgate, the Reina-Valera 1960, the Almeida Revista e Corrigida, the CEI, the Luther Bible 1545 and the Louis Segond 1910 on BibleGateway.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1716–1729, “Our Vocation to Beatitude,” vatican.va.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2006–2011, “Merit,” vatican.va.
- Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exsultate, Apostolic Exhortation on the call to holiness in today’s world, 19 March 2018, paragraphs 63–94, vatican.va.
- Augustine of Hippo, Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, book 1, chapters 1–4, translated by William Findlay, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vol. 6, New Advent.
- Orthodox Church in America, The Orthodox Faith, vol. 2, Worship, “The Divine Liturgy: Antiphons,” oca.org.
- Orthodox Church in America, The Orthodox Faith, vol. 4, Spirituality: “The Beatitudes”, “Poverty in Spirit”, “Blessed Mourning”, “Mercy”, “Peacemakers” and “Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake”.
- Martin Luther, Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, translated by Charles A. Hay (Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society, 1892), Internet Archive.
- John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, vol. 1, on Matthew 5:1–12 and Luke 6:20–26, Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (New York: Macmillan, 1963), contents, Internet Archive.
- John Peter Van Kasteren, “The Eight Beatitudes,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 2 (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907), New Advent.
- Strong’s Greek 3107, makarios, with Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, Bible Hub.
- “Beatitude,” Dictionary.com.
Leave a Reply