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Matthew 5:6

Blessed are they which do hunger...

Sermon on Mount, Beatitudes, sky and ground, personal and social fulfillment

Spoken to:
audience
KJV issues:
6
KJV

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

NIV

Matthew 5:6  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

What His Listeners Heard

Fortunate those craving and wanting this virtue because they themselves will get their fill

Greek

Greek Word Order

 

μακάριοι οἱ        πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν  δικαιοσύνην, ὅτι          αὐτοὶ                 χορτασθήσονται.
Fortunate those craving      and wanting    this virtue              because they themselves will get their fill

We are going to get more Divine justice than we anticipate.

Lost in Translation

As the fourth repetition of the Beatitude formula, Jesus unveils another humorous technique. First he adds a second characteristic, "thirsting" after "hungering", exaggerating the idea since both words have a similar sense of "craving". Then, after exaggerating the meaning, he changes it by adding "for justice." This breaks the simple pattern of the setup clause, creating a "mini" payoff in it. The payoff line in the final clause also has a double meaning: it means "to fill" or "to satisfy" but it is also the word used to mean "fatten" an animal. Though it may be my imagination, it could also mean "get their fill", which is quite funny here.

There are a number of patterns hidden in the Beatitudes, which are discussed in this article, The Beatitudes.

Vocabulary (Greek word by word)

μακάριοι (adj pl masc/fem nom) "Blessed" is from makarios which means "blessed", "prosperous", "happy", "fortunate" and "blissful".

οἱ (article pl masc nom) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"), which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones."

πεινῶντες [9  verses](part pl pres act masc nom) "Hunger" is peino, which means "to be hungry", "crave after" or "to be starved", and it is a metaphor for desire and cravings.

καὶ (conj/adv)"And" is from kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and" or "but". After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also". Also used to give emphasis, "even", "also" and "just".

διψῶντες (part pl pres act masc nom) "Thirst" is dipsao, which means "to thirst", "to be thirsty", "to be parched", "to be in want of", "to lack" and "to thirst after" a thing.

τὴν (article sg fem acc) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"), which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones".

δικαιοσύνην, (noun sg fem acc) "Righteousness" is dikaiosyne, which means "righteousness", "justice", "fulfillment of the law" and "the business of a judge". It carries the sense of virtue but specifically that of fulfilling legal or social requirements.

ὅτι (adv) "For" is from hoti, which introduces a statement of fact "with regard to the fact that", "seeing that" and acts as a causal adverb meaning "for what", "because", "since" and "wherefore".

αὐτοὶ (adj pl masc nom) "They" is from autos (autos), which means "the same" and the reflexive pronouns, "myself", "yourself", "himself", "herself", "itself" or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him", "her" and "it". It also means "one's true self", that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord".

χορτασθήσονται. [6 verses](3rd pl fut ind pass) "Filled" is chortazo, which means "feed", "feast", "fatten" and "to eat their fill". It is a term most commonly used for cattle.

KJV — word by word

Blessed -- (CW) The word "blessed" in Greek is an adjective from a root word meaning "happy" or "fortunate". In Jesus's era, all luck was attributed to divine favor but this is not otherwise a religious word. It has no relationship to the Greek verb "bless" or the noun "blessings".

are -- There is no verb "are" in the Greek source. It is implied by the equating of "workman" with "worthy" both in the Greek form of subjects.

they -- (CW) The word translated as "they" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one". The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more. 

which do -- (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as "which do" in the Greek source.

hunger --(WF) The word for "hunger" is the verb for "to hunger" as in needing food and, like the English word, it is a metaphor for any craving. However, unlike the English verb, this Greek verb is transitive like our "crave".  It is in the form of an adjective that, with the article, has the sense of, "the ones hungering".

and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").

thirst -- (WF) The Greek word for "thirst" is again a verb and very like our English word, "to thirst", meaning "to feel thirst", "to be parched" and "to thirst after" a thing. However, unlike the English verb, this Greek verb is transitive like our "crave".  It is also in the form of an adjective used as a noun, "the ones thirsting".

after -- This is needed in English because our verbs are not transitive, that is, taking a direct object but the Greek words do.

righteousness: -- The word translated as "righteousness" carries the sense of virtue but specifically that of fulfilling legal or social requirements. This ties it to the idea of fulfilling the law. We use the term "justice" more commonly today. This refers to natural law and the traditions of custom rather than to governmental laws. It does not mean conforming to current social fashions in thinking, which are seen as its opposite. When applied to God, it works best as "justice", but when applied to people "virtue" works better since we don't use "righteousness" much anymore.

for -- The "for" here is a causal adverb that means "seeing that", "because" or "since."

they -- This is from the third-person, plural form of the verb.

missing "themselves" -- (MW)  The subjective pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "they themselves".

shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

be -- This helping verb "be" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

filled. -- The Greek word translated in this version as "filled" also means "to satisfy" with a close association with the physical satisfaction of eating. Jesus uses a bit of humor here, choosing a word that is usually applied to cattle, specifically the fattening of cattle. There is another potential take that may or may not work, that is, interpreting this as "get their fill".

NIV — word by word

Blessed -- (CW) The word "blessed" in Greek is an adjective from a root word meaning "happy" or "fortunate". In Jesus's era, all luck was attributed to divine favor but this is not otherwise a religious word. It has no relationship to the Greek verb "bless" or the noun "blessings".

are -- There is no verb "are" in the Greek source. It is implied by the equating of "workman" with "worthy" both in the Greek form of subjects.

those -- The word translated as "those" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one". The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more. 

who -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "who" in the Greek source.

hunger --(WF) The word for "hunger" is the verb for "to hunger" as in needing food and, like the English word, it is a metaphor for any craving. However, unlike the English verb, this Greek verb is transitive like our "crave". It is in the form of an adjective that, with the article, has the sense of, "the ones hungering".

and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").

thirst -- (WF) The Greek word for "thirst" is again a verb and very like our English word, "to thirst", meaning "to feel thirst", "to be parched" and "to thirst after" a thing. However, unlike the English verb, this Greek verb is transitive like our "crave".  It is also in the form of an adjective used as a noun, "the ones thirsting".

for -- This is needed in English because our verbs are not transitive, that is, taking a direct object but the Greek words do.

righteousness: -- The word translated as "righteousness" carries the sense of virtue but specifically that of fulfilling legal or social requirements. This ties it to the idea of fulfilling the law. We use the term "justice" more commonly today. This refers to natural law and the traditions of custom rather than to governmental laws. It does not mean conforming to current social fashions in thinking, which are seen as its opposite. When applied to God, it works best as "justice". but when applied to people "virtue" works better since we don't use "righteousness" much anymore.

for -- The "for" here is a causal adverb that means "seeing that", "because" or "since".

they -- This is from the third-person, plural form of the verb.

missing "themselves" -- (MW)  The subjective pronoun repeats the information in the verb so it should be repeated in English like "they themselves".

will -- This helping verb "will" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

be -- This helping verb "be" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

filled. -- The Greek word translated in this version as "filled" also means "to satisfy" with a close association with the physical satisfaction of eating. Jesus uses a bit of humor here, choosing a word that is usually applied to cattle, specifically the fattening of cattle. There is another potential take that may or may not work, that is, interpreting this as "get their fill".

Related Verses

Matthew 4:4: It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone...

Luke 6:21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: