Matthew 5:7
Blessed are the merciful...
Sermon on Mount, Beatitudes, sky and ground, personal and social fulfillment
Matthew 5:7 Blessed the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Fortunate the merciful, for they themselves will be shown pity
Greek
Greek Word Order
We get what we give.
Lost in Translation
The Greek here is only five words. This fifth Beatitude breaks the pattern of the previous ones with its simplicity. The setup and payoff are simply a reverse of each other.
The concept of "mercy" is Judean society was strongly related to debt. We think of "mercy" as more a matter of courts rather than interpersonal relationships. Conceptually, this line repeats the formula from the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." This connection is obscured by the translation of "trespasses" and our modern ideas of mercy.
There are a number of patterns in the Beatitudes, which are discussed in this article on 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/fem 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."
ἐλεήμονες, (adj pl masc/fem nom) "The merciful" is from eleemon, which is a noun meaning the "pitiful" and "merciful".
ὅτι (adv) "For" is from hoti, which means "for what" and "wherefore". A form of hostis (hostis), which means "that", "anyone who", "anything which", "whosoever", "whichsoever" and "anybody whatsoever".
αὐτοὶ (adj pl masc nom) "They" is from 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".
ἐλεηθήσονται. (3rd pl fut ind pass) "Mercy" is from the verb eleeo, which means "to have pity on", "to show mercy to" and "to feel pity". In the passive, "to be shown pity" and "to be pitied".
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.
the -- The word translated as "the" 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.
merciful: -- This is the Greek adjective meaning "merciful" or "pitying".
for The "for" here is a causal adverb that means "seeing that", "because" or "since".
they -- The "they" is the pronoun used explicitly as the subject of the final phrase. This is unnecessary in Greek because the subject is also a part of the verb ending. Jesus only uses the pronoun when he wants to emphasize it as we would say "they themselves".
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.
obtain -- (WF) The Greek verb means "to have pity on", "to show mercy to" and "to feel pity". In the passive, "to be shown pity" and "to be pitied". This is the root of the adjective above. In English, we need a transitive verb with the noun "mercy". The problem with "obtain" is that it is not passive, which the Greek word is.
mercy. -- This noun completes the verbal concept in English of "mercy" or "pity". Our modern ideas of mercy or pity are not the same as the Greek concepts. In Greek, the concept is largely involved with the private system of debts: who owes what to whom. This interpersonal debt was a large part of the organizing force of society. "Mercy" was largely a matter of forgiving debts.
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.
the -- The word translated as "the" 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.
merciful: -- This is the Greek adjective meaning "merciful" or "pitying".
for -- The "for" here is a causal adverb that means "seeing that", "because" or "since."
they -- The "they" is the pronoun used explicitly as the subject of the final phrase. This is unnecessary in Greek because the subject is also a part of the verb ending. Jesus only uses the pronoun when he wants to emphasize it as we would say "they themselves".
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.
shown -- The Greek verb means "to have pity on", "to show mercy to" and "to feel pity". In the passive, "to be shown pity" and "to be pitied". This is the root of the adjective above. In English, we need a transitive verb with the noun "mercy".
mercy. -- This noun completes the verbal concept in English of "mercy" or "pity". Our modern ideas of mercy or pity are not the same as the Greek concepts. In Greek, the concept is largely involved with the private system of debts: who owes what to whom. This interpersonal debt was a large part of the organizing force of society. "Mercy" was largely a matter of forgiving debts.
Related Verses