Passages · Matthew 5:3-12
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"Meek" in Matthew 5:5 translates the Greek word praus, and the promise attached to it — "they shall inherit the earth" — quotes Psalm 37 almost word for word. In that psalm, the meek are not the mild-mannered. They are people who have been wronged, who watch the ruthless win, and who have nowhere to take it but God. The Hebrew word there is anawim — the pressed-down. So the beatitude is not praising politeness. It declares that the people at the bottom end up with the inheritance.
5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5:5 Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. 5:10 Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 5:11 Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
The Beatitudes open the Sermon on the Mount, the first long teaching in Matthew. Jesus goes up a mountain — as Moses once did — sits down in the posture of a teacher, and makes eight declarations about who stands in God's favor. "Blessed are the meek" is the third. The WEB translates the word "gentle"; most readers know it as "meek."
"The gentle" (5:5) — the Greek is praus. The promise quotes Psalm 37:11, and that psalm is a sustained contrast: the wicked grab and prosper for a while; the meek wait on God — and end up holding what the grabbers lose. Jesus carries that whole story into one line.
"Blessed" (every verse) — makarios. Not a feeling, and not "happy." It is a verdict: this person stands in the place of God's favor. The same word opens the book of Psalms. Nine times in ten verses gives the passage the sound of a formal declaration, not advice.
"Inherit the earth" (5:5) — in Psalm 37 the promise was concrete: the land the wicked were about to lose. Jesus sets the same promise inside the kingdom the Beatitudes announce — the same reversal, now as wide as creation.
"Blessed are you" (5:11) — for eight lines it is "blessed are those." At verse 11 it becomes "blessed are you." Jesus stops describing a kind of person and starts addressing the people in front of him — people already facing insult and worse for his sake. The declaration about the meek is not abstract for them.
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