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Humanities LibreTexts

7.32: Beatitudes

  • Page ID
    303475
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    The Beatitudes

    Beati pauperes spiritu

    Note: In the Greek of Matthew 5, the word “blessed” in each beatitude is in the predicate position and placed at the beginning of each phrase for emphasis, as is the subject (“theirs”/“they”) in the second line of each couplet. The English accomplishes the emphasis through the use of italics. The translation renders the first eight beatitudes in iambic trimeter, the meter most commonly used in the spoken parts of Greek drama.

    The poor in spirit are blessed;

    Heaven’s Reign’s already theirs.

    The bearers of grief are blessed;

    to them shall courage come.

    The restrained in strength are blessed;

    it’s they who’ll inherit the Land.

    The starved of justice are blessed;

    it’s they who will be full.

    The givers of mercy are blessed;

    to them shall mercy come.

    The pure in heart are blessed;

    it’s they who’ll see God’s face.

    The makers of peace are blessed;

    it’s they who’ll be God’s sons.

    The righteous harassed are blessed;

    Heaven’s Reign’s already theirs.

    You are blessed

    when you’re harassed and insulted;

    when every kind of evil is spoken against you falsely

    because of Me.

    Rejoice and be glad:

    your reward in heaven is great.

    Lord of all and God of might, in Your beloved Son You have shown us the way of blessedness that turns the cheek to the smiters and carries the cross amid harassment and insults. By Your Holy Spirit, enable us to trust that His is the blessed way that comes with baptismal grace; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


    7.32: Beatitudes is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by and translated by Patrick James Bayens.

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