Sermon on Mount, Beatitudes, personal and social, popularity and ostracism
Matthew 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Fortunate, those having been hounding themselves on account of virtue. Because this realm of the skies belongs to them.
The only refuge from social attention is a higher realm.
The word translated as "persecuted" actually means "being chased." It only means persecution in the sense that being "hounded" can be a bad thing, but being hounded can also be a good thing, a sign of popular. However, the verb is in a form that can be "being hounded" or "hounding themselves." So this line could refer to ascetics as well as the religiously persecuted. Jesus himself was often chased by crowds of people who wanted to hear him. The reference to "righteousness/doing right," is ambiguous. It can refer either to its presence or lack.
Even though it is very early in the Gospels, we have already seen the word translated as "righteousness" or "doing right" in both Matthew 3:15 and Matthew 5:6. The noun might be best translated as "virtue" when applied to people and "justice" when applied to God. It 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. "Righteousness" is the state for which humans were designed. In traditional terms, it means being virtuous, honest, and pure; thinking and acting correctly. Our modern idea of justice, that is, the legal standard giving every person due process, is a much lower standard that this idea of virtue.
As the last "standard" beatitude, this verse repeats the ending of the first, Matthew 5:3. The last line's, the punchline's meaning is much clearer if we translate the "theirs is" as "belongs to them." When the verb "to be" takes this form of object, the sense is "belongs to." The sense of the line is "it belongs to them, the realm of the skies." The "realm of the skies" is the punchline, saved until the end because the entire verse raises the question, "what do these beggars have that makes them fortunate?" This last line answers that question.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "blessed" means "blessed" primarily in the sense of "lucky" or "fortunate" without a sense of a "blessing."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "they" is not the pronoun but an article, "the ones."
- IP - Inserted phrase-- The phrase "which are" doesn't exist in the source.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "persecute" is a verb that primarily means "being chased" and only means "persecuted" in the sense of "being hounded."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "persecuted" is not an active verb but a passive participle, "having been chased."
- CW --Confusing Word -- The "theirs" does not capture the word's specific meaning in this situation.
- CW --Confusing Word -- The "is" does not capture the word's specific meaning in this situation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "skies" is not shown in the English translation.
- WN - Wrong Number- The word "heaven" is translated singular as but it is plural."skies."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "blessed" means "blessed" primarily in the sense of "lucky" or "fortunate" without a sense of a "blessing."
- IP - Inserted phrase-- The phrase "who are" doesn't exist in the source.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "persecute" is a verb that primarily means "being chased" and only means "persecuted" in the sense of "being hounded."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "persecuted" is not an active verb but a passive participle, "having been chased."
- CW --Confusing Word -- The "theirs" does not capture the word's specific meaning in this situation.
- CW --Confusing Word -- The "is" does not capture the word's specific meaning in this situation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "skies" is not shown in the English translation.
- WN - Wrong Number- The word "heaven" is translated singular as but it is plural."skies."
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "God" doesn't exist in the source.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "blesses" means "blessed" primarily in the sense of "lucky" or "fortunate" without a sense of a "blessing."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "blesses" is not an active verb but an adjective.
- IP - Inserted phrase-- The phrase "who are" doesn't exist in the source.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "persecute" is a verb that primarily means "being chased" and only means "persecuted" in the sense of "being hounded."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "persecuted" is not an active verb but a passive participle, "having been chased."
- WF - Wrong Form - The "doing right" is not a verbal clause but a noun.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "skies" is not shown in the English translation.
- WN - Wrong Number- The word "heaven" is translated singular as but it is plural."skies."
- CW --Confusing Word -- The "is" does not capture the word's specific meaning in this situation.
- CW --Confusing Word -- The "theirs" does not capture the word's specific meaning in this situation.
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 are -- (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as "which do" in the Greek source.
persecuted -- (CW, WF) The word translated here as "persecuted" can mean several contradictory things, which need examination. It is a verb meaning is "to chase." The verb also means "to drive" or "propel." When used as a legal term, which doesn't quite fit, it means "prosecute," not "persecute." In English, our term "being hounded" might come the closest. It is in the form of an adjective used as a noun, "the ones chasing" or, because it is either passive, "the ones being chased" or the middle voice, "hounding themselves. However, it refers to an action completed in the past, so "the ones having been hounded" or "those having hounded themselves."
for -- The "for" is a preposition that "on account of." In Biblical translation, the phrase is usually translated as "for somethings sake."
righteousness' -- The word translated as "righteousness" also means "justice" and generally "fulfillment of the law". When applied to God, it works best as "justice," but when applied to people "virtue" works better since we don't use "righteousness" must anymore.
sake: - This completes the "for something's sake" phrase,
for -- The "for" here is a causal adverb that means "seeing that", "because", or "since."
theirs -- (CW) This is the genitive, plural pronoun. When this form or word is the object of the verb "to be" the sense is "belongs to," so the sense of this word in these situations is "to." This is not the specific meaning of the word in this situation , which is "to them."
is -- (CW) The verb "is" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics. The word also means "to exist" and where it doesn't connect to characteristics or conditions. With the genitive object, the sense is "belongs to."
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.
kingdom -- The word translated as "kingdom" can be the region, the reign, the castle or the authority of a ruler. Christ does not seem to use it to mean a physical region, so its translation as "reign" or "realm" seems more appropriate. This is especially true because the "reign" of a king means the execution of his will.
of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that required the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession, but it can also mean "belonging to," "part of", "which is", "than" (in comparisons), or "for", "concerning" or "about" with transitive nouns.
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word 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.
heaven. -- (WN) The word translated as "heaven" means sky, the climate, and the universe. It also meant the home of the gods in a physical sense: the sun, moon, and planets were named for the gods. The word is plural, not singular.
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 "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.
who are -- (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as "which do" in the Greek source.
persecuted -- (CW, WF) The word translated here as "persecuted" can mean several contradictory things, which need examination. It is a verb meaning is "to chase." The verb also means "to drive" or "propel." When used as a legal term, which doesn't quite fit, it means "prosecute," not "persecute." In English, our term "being hounded" might come the closest.It is in the form of an adjective used as a noun, "the ones chasing" or, because it is either passive, "the ones being chased" or the middle voice, "hounding themselves. However, it refers to an action completed in the past, so "the ones having been hounded" or "those having hounded themselves."
because of -- The "because of" is from a word that means "on account of."
righteousness' -- In Greek, the word translated as "righteousness" or in many translations, "justice" in the sense of "the fulfillment of the law," but 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. "Righteousness" is the state for which humans were designed. In traditional terms, it means being virtuous, honest, and pure; thinking and acting correctly. Our modern idea of justice, that is, the legal standard giving every person due process, is a much lower standard that this idea of virtue.
for -- The "for" here is a causal adverb that means "seeing that", "because", or "since."
theirs -- (CW) This is the genitive, plural pronoun. When this form or word is the object of the verb "to be" the sense is "belongs to," so the sense of this word in these situations is "to." This is not the specific meaning of the word in this situation , which is "to them."
is -- (CW) The verb "is" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics. The word also means "to exist" and where it doesn't connect to characteristics or conditions. With the genitive object, the sense is "belongs to."
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.
kingdom -- The word translated as "kingdom" can be the region, the reign, the castle or the authority of a ruler. Christ does not seem to use it to mean a physical region, so its translation as "reign" or "realm" seems more appropriate. This is especially true because the "reign" of a king means the execution of his will.
of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that required the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession, but it can also mean "belonging to," "part of", "which is", "than" (in comparisons), or "for", "concerning" or "about" with transitive nouns.
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word 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.
heaven. -- (WN) The word translated as "heaven" means sky, the climate, and the universe. It also meant the home of the gods in a physical sense: the sun, moon, and planets were named for the gods. The word is plural, not singular.
God -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "God" in the Greek source.
blesses -- (CW, WF) The word "blesses" 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." This is not a verb. This word can also mean "wealthy". This sets up an interesting play on words that only works in Greek, saying "wealthy the poor,"
those -- The word translated as "those who" 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 are -- (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as "which do" in the Greek source.
persecuted -- (CW, WF) The word translated here as "persecuted" can mean several contradictory things, which need examination. It is a verb meaning is "to chase." The verb also means "to drive" or "propel." When used as a legal term, which doesn't quite fit, it means "prosecute," not "persecute." In English, our term "being hounded" might come the closest. It is in the form of an adjective used as a noun, "the ones chasing" or, because it is either passive, "the ones being chased" or the middle voice, "hounding themselves. However, it refers to an action completed in the past, so "the ones having been hounded" or "those having hounded themselves."
for -- The "for" is from a word that means "on account of."
doing right, -- (WF) In Greek, the word translated as "doing right" is translated as usually "righteousness," or "justice" in the sense of "the fulfillment of the law," but this refers to natural law and the traditions of custom rather than to governmental laws. It might be described as "virtue." It does not mean conforming to current social fashions, which are seen as its opposite. "Righteousness" is the state for which humans were designed. In traditional terms, it means being virtuous, honest, and pure; thinking and acting correctly. Our modern idea of justice, that is, the legal standard giving every person due process, is a much lower standard that this idea of virtue. The word is not a verbal clause, but a noun.
for -- The "for" here is a causal adverb that means "seeing that", "because", or "since."
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.
kingdom -- The word translated as "kingdom" can be the region, the reign, the castle or the authority of a ruler. Christ does not seem to use it to mean a physical region, so its translation as "reign" or "realm" seems more appropriate. This is especially true because the "reign" of a king means the execution of his will.
of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that required the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession, but it can also mean "belonging to," "part of", "which is", "than" (in comparisons), or "for", "concerning" or "about" with transitive nouns.
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word 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.
heaven. -- (WN) The word translated as "heaven" means sky, the climate, and the universe. It also meant the home of the gods in a physical sense: the sun, moon, and planets were named for the gods. The word is plural, not singular.
is -- (CW) The verb "is" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics. The word also means "to exist" and where it doesn't connect to characteristics or conditions. With the genitive object, the sense is "belongs to."
theirs -- (CW) This is the genitive, plural pronoun. When this form or word is the object of the verb "to be" the sense is "belongs to," so the sense of this word in these situations is "to." This is not the specific meaning of the word in this situation , which is "to them."
μακάριοι (adj pl masc nom) The "Blessed" is from makarios which means "blessed", "prosperous", "happy", "fortunate," and "blissful."
οἱ (article pl masc nom) "They which" 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." -- 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.
δεδιωγμένοι (part pl perf mp masc nom) "Are persecuted" is from dioko, which means "to pursue", "to chase", "to urge on", "to chase away", "to carry forward", "to be hurried (passive)," or "to drive." It means "persecute" when used as a legal term.
ἕνεκεν (prep) "For" is from heneka, which means "on account of", "as far as regards", "in consequence of," and "because."
δικαιοσύνης, (noun sg fem gen) "Righteousness" is from 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."
αὐτῶν (adj pl masc/fem gen) "Theirs" 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."
ἐστὶν (3rd sg pres ind act) "Is" is from esti, which means "to be", "to exist", "to be the case," and "is possible." (3rd person, singular present form-esti).
ἡ βασιλεία (noun dual fem nom) "Kingdom" is from basileia, which means "kingdom", "dominion", "hereditary monarchy", "kingly office," (passive) "being ruled by a king," and "reign."
τῶν οὐρανῶν. (noun pl masc gen) "Of Heaven" is from the Greek ouranos (ouranos), which means "heaven as in the vault of the sky", "heaven as the seat of the gods", "the sky", "the universe," and "the climate."
Contrasting meanings of the negative "being hounded" and the positive "being driven" from the same word.
Matthew 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers:
Matthew 5:6 Blessed [are] they which do hunger...
Matthew 3:15 Suffer [it to be so] now...
Joahnen’s ascetics were crazy: not drinking wine, wearing cloth, or even eating bread.
“Crackpots all!” someone else shouted, generating more shouts of agreement.
Before this went any further, the Master held up his hands for silence.
“Fortunate!” he responded, as lighthearted as ever. “Those having been hounding themselves for the sake of virtue.”
We all laughed in response. The Nazarene had ignored the prophecy, and instead he was having fun with words.
The description of Joahnen’s followers as “having been driven themselves” was accurate and funny. The way he said it had two meanings: that ascetics were driving themselves and that they were being harassed by others. Both were true.
“Why do ascetics see giving up the good things in like as a virtue?” someone asked.
“Because theirs is...” he answered, pausing and pointing a finger to the sky.
“This realm of the skies!” the Teacher said with us as we reacted to his signal.
We laughed again. He made the ways of the ascetics seem both noble and unrealistic. It was also funny because most Galileans understood that the chant had been originally Joahnen’s own.