The Beatitudes (KJV) — Matthew 5:3-12
The full King James text of the eight blessings that open the Sermon on the Mount, ready to read or print, followed by the meaning of each one explained.
Matthew 5:3-12, King James Version
3Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
King James Version — public domain. biblegarden.net/beatitudes
What Are the Beatitudes?
The Beatitudes are the eight blessings Jesus pronounces at the start of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-10). Each begins with the same word — “Blessed” — and follows the same two-part shape: a group most people would never call fortunate (the poor in spirit, the mourning, the meek, the persecuted), and the reversal God promises them. The name comes from the Latin beatitudo, “blessedness,” though the word itself never appears in the KJV text.
Read together they are a portrait, not a to-do list. Jesus is not handing out eight separate tasks so much as describing the character of the people who belong to his kingdom — and announcing, before he has asked anything of them, that they are already blessed. The eighth blessing closes with the same promise as the first, “theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” framing all eight as one picture of that kingdom’s citizens.
The Meaning of Each Beatitude
Each blessing pairs a group Jesus calls blessed with the promise made to them. The eight run from the poor in spirit to the persecuted, and open and close with the same reward — the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Not poverty of the wallet but of the spirit — those who know they bring nothing of their own to God. The list opens where the whole sermon aims: the kingdom belongs first to those who have given up any claim to earn it.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
A blessing on grief itself. Jesus does not tell the sorrowful to cheer up; he promises them comfort. The mourning in view includes grief over sin and over a broken world, not only bereavement.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Meekness is strength under restraint, not weakness. The line quotes Psalm 37:11 almost word for word, turning the world's order upside down: the earth goes not to the forceful who seize it but to the meek who wait for it.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
The one appetite Jesus blesses is the craving to be right with God. He promises it will be satisfied — the only hunger in the list that ends in being filled rather than in a reversal of circumstance.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Mercy given and mercy received are bound together, the same pairing Jesus makes in the Lord's Prayer a chapter later (Matthew 6:12). Those who deal gently with others are promised the same treatment from God.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Purity here is single-minded, undivided devotion — a heart not split between God and something else. Its reward is the highest in the list: to see God himself, a promise repeated at the very end of the Bible (Revelation 22:4).
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Not merely the peaceful, but those who make peace where there is none. To do the work of reconciliation is to act like God, and so to be owned as his child.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The eighth blessing closes the list with the same promise that opened it — the kingdom of heaven — framing all eight. Note the qualifier: the blessing is on those persecuted for righteousness, not for any cause.
Verses 11-12 then stretch the eighth blessing to Jesus’ own hearers: “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you… for my sake.” The shift from “they” to “ye” makes the promise personal, and adds a command — “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad” — on the ground that the reward in heaven is great.
The Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount
The Beatitudes are the opening of the longest block of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels — the Sermon on the Mount, three chapters that run from Matthew 5 through Matthew 7. Seeing the crowds, Jesus goes up a mountain, sits down as a teacher would, and begins not with a demand but with a blessing.
What follows the Beatitudes builds on them. The people just called blessed are told they are “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-16); the sermon then turns to anger, reconciliation, love of enemies, giving, prayer — including the Lord’s Prayer — and trust instead of anxiety, before closing with the parable of the two builders. The Beatitudes set the tone for all of it: the kingdom belongs to the lowly, and its blessings run opposite to the world’s.
Related Verses to Read Next
Five passages that sit closest to the Beatitudes — what surrounds them, what they quote, and where the rest of Scripture takes up the same theme.
The charge that follows the Beatitudes: those Jesus has just blessed are to let their light shine before men.
Matthew 5:16Luke's shorter parallel, spoken on a plain rather than a mountain, with four blessings and four matching woes.
Luke 6:20The verse Jesus quotes in the third Beatitude — the meek inheriting the earth was already an old promise.
Psalms 37:11The prophecy of good tidings to the meek and comfort to those who mourn that the Beatitudes echo and fulfil.
Isaiah 61:1Peter takes up the last Beatitude directly: suffering for righteousness' sake is not misfortune but blessing.
1 Peter 3:14Recommended reading
Study Bibles & devotionals
Go deeper than a single verse. These study Bibles and daily devotionals pair well with the topics here — adding context, commentary, and a rhythm for daily reading.
ESV Study Bible
Crossway
Over 20,000 study notes, maps, and articles — the go-to one-volume study Bible for understanding scripture in context.
Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
Tyndale / Zondervan
Notes that connect each passage to everyday life — ideal alongside the topical verses on this page.
Jesus Calling
Sarah Young
A year of short daily devotions written as if Jesus is speaking — a gentle companion to daily scripture reading.
My Utmost for His Highest
Oswald Chambers
The classic daily devotional — 365 readings that have shaped Christian devotion for over a century.
As an Amazon Associate this site earns from qualifying purchases. Links are sponsored. Browse all topics →
Keep Exploring
Read the Beatitudes in their setting in the Gospel of Matthew, pray the prayer Jesus gives later in the same sermon in our Lord’s Prayer guide, or browse every subject in the Topics index.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Beatitudes in the KJV?
The Beatitudes are the eight blessings with which Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:3-10, each opening with the word “Blessed.” In the King James Version they read: “Blessed are the poor in spirit… Blessed are they that mourn… Blessed are the meek… Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness… Blessed are the merciful… Blessed are the pure in heart… Blessed are the peacemakers… Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake.” Verses 11-12 extend the last blessing to Jesus' own disciples when they are reviled and persecuted for his sake.
How many Beatitudes are there?
There are eight Beatitudes proper, in Matthew 5:3-10, each a self-contained “Blessed are…” statement. Verses 11-12 are sometimes counted as a ninth, but they are really an expansion of the eighth: Jesus shifts from “Blessed are they which are persecuted” to “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you… for my sake,” applying the blessing personally to his hearers.
What does the word “Beatitude” mean?
The word does not appear in the KJV text itself. It comes from the Latin beatitudo, meaning “blessedness” or “happiness,” by way of beati (“blessed”), the word that opens each verse in the Latin Vulgate. English tradition adopted “Beatitudes” as the name for these blessings; the King James Version renders the underlying word simply as “Blessed.”
Where are the Beatitudes in the Bible?
The Beatitudes open the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:3-12, the first of three chapters (Matthew 5-7) of Jesus' teaching. A shorter parallel appears in Luke 6:20-23, delivered on a level place, where four blessings are each matched by a corresponding “woe” (Luke 6:24-26).
How do the Beatitudes in Matthew and Luke differ?
Matthew records eight blessings and often frames them in the spirit — “poor in spirit,” “hunger and thirst after righteousness” — spoken to a crowd on a mountain (Matthew 5). Luke records four, stated more plainly — “blessed be ye poor,” “blessed are ye that hunger now” — spoken on a plain, and pairs each with a matching woe (Luke 6:20-26). The two accounts share the same core message that God's blessing rests on the lowly rather than the powerful.