Matthew 5:1-9

1 But seeing the crowds, he went up into the mountain, and having sat down, his disciples came to him;

2 and, having opened his mouth, he taught them, saying,

3 Blessed [are] the poor in spirit, for *theirs* is the kingdom of the heavens.

4 Blessed they that mourn, for *they* shall be comforted.

5 Blessed the meek, for *they* shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for *they* shall be filled.

7 Blessed the merciful, for *they* shall find mercy.

8 Blessed the pure in heart, for *they* shall see God.

9 Blessed the peace-makers, for *they* shall be called sons of God.

Footnotes

• [a]. It is well to notice here an habitual use of the article. It is a known rule that contrast, and hence one part of a thing as contradistinguished from another, has the article. This is the case with 'ship' and 'mountain' in the gospels: 'he was' or 'went' 'on board ship;' not a particular ship, but 'on board ship,' as we say, in contrast with 'on shore.' So 'the mountain;' not a particular mountain, but in contrast with the plain, where the plain and the mountain are in contrast. Christ had a particular ship which waited on him, but the article is used, as here, where that is not the case. 'In the ship with' is tantamount to 'the same ship;' so here I do not change the form, but translate literally.
• [b]. Or 'land.' This is a quotation from Ps. 37.11. For a Jew, inheriting the land was inheriting the earth, and vice versa. It was not the haughty Pharisee or the violent who were to have it: God would give it to the meek of the earth that waited on Him. I have put 'earth' as giving a larger thought, as characteristic, not local only. Here ge in Greek, agrees with erets, in Hebrew. See Notes, 1Sam. 2.8; Ps. 2.8.