# Matthew 5.9 **Book:** [Matthew](/codex/matthew-the-apostle/) · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 7. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. > > **9. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God.** > > 10. Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11. Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. (Matthew 5:7-11, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 7. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. > > **9. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.** > > 10. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 11. “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. (Matthew 5:7-11, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 7. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. > > **9. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.** > > 10. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. falsely: Gr. lying (Matthew 5:7-11, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 7. 'Happy the kind, because they shall find kindness. 8. 'Happy the clean in heart, because they shall see God. > > **9. 'Happy the peacemakers, because they shall be called Sons of God.** > > 10. 'Happy those persecuted for righteousness' sake, because theirs is the reign of the heavens. 11. 'Happy are ye whenever they may reproach you, and may persecute, and may say any evil thing against you falsely for my sake (Matthew 5:7-11, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** Jesus - **Audience:** his disciples, with the surrounding crowds listening (the Sermon on the Mount) - **Location:** a mountainside in Galilee, traditionally near Capernaum - **Time period:** early in Jesus' Galilean ministry, c. AD 28 to 30 ## Theological reading The fathers read the seventh beatitude on two levels. On the making of peace, **Jerome** and **Ambrose** locate it first within the person: the peacemakers make peace *"first within their own hearts, then between brethren at variance"* (Jerome), having first *"made your inward parts clean from every spot of sin"* (Ambrose); **Augustine** defines the peace in view as *"the fixedness of order"* (*City of God* 19.13). On the reward, being *"called sons of God,"* **Hilary** names it *"the reward of adoption,"* and **Chrysostom** grounds it in the Son's own work, since to reconcile *"things separated"* was *"the chief employment of the Only-begotten Son,"* so peacemakers bear his likeness. The Gloss adds that the beatitude stands seventh because *"in the sabbath shall be given the repose of true peace."* The blessing thus falls on those who actively make peace, not merely those who avoid conflict, and ties them to God the reconciler (cf. [Romans 5:1](/codex/romans-5-1/), [2 Corinthians 5:18-19](/codex/2-corinthians-5-18-19/)). ## Key words - **sons / children** ([huios](/codex/g5207-huios/), G5207), "sons of God," marking adoptive likeness rather than mere origin. - **God** ([theos](/codex/g2316-theos/), G2316). - In the verse but not yet hubbed: *makarios* (G3107, "blessed") and *eirenopoios* (G1518, "peacemaker," used only here in the New Testament), candidates for new lexicon entries. ## Why these four translations ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance. The four: - **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff. See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses. ## Quoted in **Arguments and defeaters:** - [Argument from Meaningful Suffering](/codex/argument-from-meaningful-suffering/), via [Matthew 5.3-12](/codex/matthew-5-3-12/) - [Argument from Sanctity](/codex/argument-from-sanctity/), via [Matthew 5.3-12](/codex/matthew-5-3-12/) - [Religion Causes Violence Objection Defeater](/codex/religion-causes-violence-objection-defeater/) **Concepts:** - [Jesus Said](/codex/jesus-said/), via [Matthew 5](/codex/matthew-5/) - [Sermon on the Mount](/codex/sermon-on-the-mount/), via [Matthew 5](/codex/matthew-5/), [Matthew 5.3-12](/codex/matthew-5-3-12/) - [Spirit of Strife](/codex/spirit-of-strife/) - [Survivorship Bias](/codex/survivorship-bias/), via [Matthew 5.3-12](/codex/matthew-5-3-12/) **Lexicon:** - [H7965 - shalom](/codex/h7965-shalom/) **Passages:** - [1 Corinthians 10.13](/codex/1-corinthians-10-13/) - [1 Corinthians 10.20](/codex/1-corinthians-10-20/) - [1 Corinthians 11](/codex/1-corinthians-11/) - [1 Corinthians 12.4-6](/codex/1-corinthians-12-4-6/) - [1 Corinthians 14.33](/codex/1-corinthians-14-33/) - [1 Corinthians 15.1-11](/codex/1-corinthians-15-1-11/) - [1 Corinthians 15.50](/codex/1-corinthians-15-50/) - [1 Corinthians 2.11](/codex/1-corinthians-2-11/) - [1 Corinthians 2.14](/codex/1-corinthians-2-14/) - [1 Corinthians 3.19](/codex/1-corinthians-3-19/) - [1 Corinthians 6](/codex/1-corinthians-6/) - [1 Corinthians 6.11](/codex/1-corinthians-6-11/) - [1 Corinthians 6.14](/codex/1-corinthians-6-14/) - [1 Corinthians 6.16-20](/codex/1-corinthians-6-16-20/) - [1 Corinthians 6.19](/codex/1-corinthians-6-19/) - [1 Corinthians 6.20](/codex/1-corinthians-6-20/) - [1 Corinthians 6.9-11](/codex/1-corinthians-6-9-11/) - [1 Corinthians 8.1-3](/codex/1-corinthians-8-1-3/) - [1 John 3.1](/codex/1-john-3-1/) - [1 John 3.9](/codex/1-john-3-9/) - [1 John 4.1](/codex/1-john-4-1/) - [1 John 4.2-3](/codex/1-john-4-2-3/) - [1 John 4.3](/codex/1-john-4-3/) - [1 John 4.6](/codex/1-john-4-6/) - [1 John 5.11](/codex/1-john-5-11/) - [1 John 5.19](/codex/1-john-5-19/) - [1 John 5.3](/codex/1-john-5-3/) - [1 Peter 1.1-2](/codex/1-peter-1-1-2/) - [1 Peter 1.3](/codex/1-peter-1-3/) - [1 Peter 3.18-19](/codex/1-peter-3-18-19/) - [1 Peter 4.16](/codex/1-peter-4-16/) - [1 Thessalonians 4.3-5](/codex/1-thessalonians-4-3-5/) - [1 Thessalonians 5.23](/codex/1-thessalonians-5-23/) - [1 Timothy 1.3-4](/codex/1-timothy-1-3-4/) - [1 Timothy 1.4](/codex/1-timothy-1-4/) - [1 Timothy 2.3-4](/codex/1-timothy-2-3-4/) - [2 Corinthians 1.3-4](/codex/2-corinthians-1-3-4/) - [2 Corinthians 10.5](/codex/2-corinthians-10-5/) - [2 Corinthians 4.6](/codex/2-corinthians-4-6/) - [2 Corinthians 5.1](/codex/2-corinthians-5-1/) - [2 Corinthians 9.6-7](/codex/2-corinthians-9-6-7/) - [2 Corinthians 9.7](/codex/2-corinthians-9-7/) - [2 Corinthians 9.8](/codex/2-corinthians-9-8/) - [2 Timothy 1.7](/codex/2-timothy-1-7/) - [2 Timothy 2.15](/codex/2-timothy-2-15/) - [Acts 1](/codex/acts-1/) - [Acts 10.28](/codex/acts-10-28/) - [Acts 10.30-33](/codex/acts-10-30-33/) - [Acts 10.38](/codex/acts-10-38/) - [Acts 11](/codex/acts-11/) - [Acts 15.10](/codex/acts-15-10/) - [Acts 16.14](/codex/acts-16-14/) - [Acts 17.29](/codex/acts-17-29/) - [Acts 18.26](/codex/acts-18-26/) - [Acts 2.17-18](/codex/acts-2-17-18/) - [Acts 2.23](/codex/acts-2-23/) - [Acts 2.24](/codex/acts-2-24/) - [Acts 2.33](/codex/acts-2-33/) - [Acts 28.30-31](/codex/acts-28-30-31/) - [Acts 3.13-16](/codex/acts-3-13-16/) - [Acts 3.22](/codex/acts-3-22/) - [Acts 5.32](/codex/acts-5-32/) - [Acts 7.42](/codex/acts-7-42/) - [Acts 9](/codex/acts-9/) - [Colossians 1.4-6](/codex/colossians-1-4-6/) - [Colossians 2.10-14](/codex/colossians-2-10-14/) - [Colossians 3.17](/codex/colossians-3-17/) - [Ephesians 1.17](/codex/ephesians-1-17/) - [Ephesians 2.22](/codex/ephesians-2-22/) - [Ephesians 2.7-9](/codex/ephesians-2-7-9/) - [Ephesians 2.8](/codex/ephesians-2-8/) - [Ephesians 2.8-10](/codex/ephesians-2-8-10/) - [Ephesians 4.31-32](/codex/ephesians-4-31-32/) - [Ephesians 4.5-6](/codex/ephesians-4-5-6/) - [Ephesians 4.6](/codex/ephesians-4-6/) - [Ephesians 5.21](/codex/ephesians-5-21/) - [Ephesians 6](/codex/ephesians-6/) - [Ephesians 6.10-18](/codex/ephesians-6-10-18/) - [Galatians 2.20](/codex/galatians-2-20/) - [Galatians 3.7-9](/codex/galatians-3-7-9/) - [Galatians 4.4](/codex/galatians-4-4/) - [Galatians 4.6](/codex/galatians-4-6/) - [Galatians 5](/codex/galatians-5/) - [Hebrews 1](/codex/hebrews-1/) - [Hebrews 1.1](/codex/hebrews-1-1/) - [Hebrews 1.1-14](/codex/hebrews-1-1-14/) - [Hebrews 1.1-2](/codex/hebrews-1-1-2/) - [Hebrews 1.6](/codex/hebrews-1-6/) - [Hebrews 1.8-10](/codex/hebrews-1-8-10/) - [Hebrews 1.8-12](/codex/hebrews-1-8-12/) - [Hebrews 11.39-40](/codex/hebrews-11-39-40/) - [Hebrews 11.5](/codex/hebrews-11-5/) - [Hebrews 12.22-24](/codex/hebrews-12-22-24/) - [Hebrews 12.29](/codex/hebrews-12-29/) - [Hebrews 2.13](/codex/hebrews-2-13/) - [Hebrews 2.17-18](/codex/hebrews-2-17-18/) - [Hebrews 3.4](/codex/hebrews-3-4/) - [Hebrews 5.12-14](/codex/hebrews-5-12-14/) - [Hebrews 6.4-6](/codex/hebrews-6-4-6/) - [Hebrews 7.25](/codex/hebrews-7-25/) - [James 1.13-15](/codex/james-1-13-15/) - [James 1.19-20](/codex/james-1-19-20/) - [James 4.6](/codex/james-4-6/) - [John 1.1-14](/codex/john-1-1-14/) - [John 1.1-18](/codex/john-1-1-18/) - [John 1.12](/codex/john-1-12/) - [John 1.29](/codex/john-1-29/) - [John 1.29-31](/codex/john-1-29-31/) - [John 1.29-34](/codex/john-1-29-34/) - [John 1.44-49](/codex/john-1-44-49/) - [John 10.30-33](/codex/john-10-30-33/) - [John 10.31-33](/codex/john-10-31-33/) - [John 10.34](/codex/john-10-34/) - [John 10.34-35](/codex/john-10-34-35/) - [John 10.34-36](/codex/john-10-34-36/) - [John 10.36](/codex/john-10-36/) - [John 10.36-38](/codex/john-10-36-38/) - [John 11](/codex/john-11/) - [John 11.1-4](/codex/john-11-1-4/) - [John 11.4](/codex/john-11-4/) - [John 14.1-7](/codex/john-14-1-7/) - [John 16.27-28](/codex/john-16-27-28/) - [John 16.30](/codex/john-16-30/) - [John 20.17](/codex/john-20-17/) - [John 20.17-18](/codex/john-20-17-18/) - [John 20.31](/codex/john-20-31/) - [John 3](/codex/john-3/) - [John 3.3](/codex/john-3-3/) - [John 5](/codex/john-5/) - [John 5.24-27](/codex/john-5-24-27/) - [John 5.25](/codex/john-5-25/) - [John 6.29](/codex/john-6-29/) - [John 6.46](/codex/john-6-46/) - [John 7.17](/codex/john-7-17/) - [John 7.53-8](/codex/john-7-53-8/) - [John 8.40](/codex/john-8-40/) - [Jude 1](/codex/jude-1/) - [Jude 1.3-4](/codex/jude-1-3-4/) - [Luke 1.29-38](/codex/luke-1-29-38/) - [Luke 1.32](/codex/luke-1-32/) - [Luke 1.34-35](/codex/luke-1-34-35/) - [Luke 1.35](/codex/luke-1-35/) - [Luke 1.47](/codex/luke-1-47/) - [Luke 1.6](/codex/luke-1-6/) - [Luke 10.25-28](/codex/luke-10-25-28/) - [Luke 15.10](/codex/luke-15-10/) - [Luke 17.11-19](/codex/luke-17-11-19/) - [Luke 2.40](/codex/luke-2-40/) - [Luke 2.52](/codex/luke-2-52/) - [Luke 20.34-36](/codex/luke-20-34-36/) - [Luke 22.66-71](/codex/luke-22-66-71/) - [Luke 3.23-38](/codex/luke-3-23-38/) - [Luke 3.38](/codex/luke-3-38/) - [Luke 6.12-16](/codex/luke-6-12-16/) - [Luke 6.17-49](/codex/luke-6-17-49/) - [Luke 6.20-22](/codex/luke-6-20-22/) - [Luke 6.27-2](/codex/luke-6-27-2/) - [Luke 8.38-39](/codex/luke-8-38-39/) - [Mark 10.14](/codex/mark-10-14/) - [Mark 10.18](/codex/mark-10-18/) - [Mark 12](/codex/mark-12/) - [Mark 12.28-33](/codex/mark-12-28-33/) - [Mark 12.29-30](/codex/mark-12-29-30/) - [Mark 15](/codex/mark-15/) - [Mark 2.1-12](/codex/mark-2-1-12/) - [Mark 2.5-7](/codex/mark-2-5-7/) - [Mark 2.7](/codex/mark-2-7/) - [Mark 4.11-12](/codex/mark-4-11-12/) - [Mark 7.6-8](/codex/mark-7-6-8/) - [Matthew 1](/codex/matthew-1/) - [Matthew 1.22-23](/codex/matthew-1-22-23/) - [Matthew 14.22-33](/codex/matthew-14-22-33/) - [Matthew 14.33](/codex/matthew-14-33/) - [Matthew 16.16](/codex/matthew-16-16/) - [Matthew 19](/codex/matthew-19/) - [Matthew 19.16-17](/codex/matthew-19-16-17/) - [Matthew 19.16-19](/codex/matthew-19-16-19/) - [Matthew 19.16-30](/codex/matthew-19-16-30/) - [Matthew 19.23-24](/codex/matthew-19-23-24/) - [Matthew 19.26](/codex/matthew-19-26/) - [Matthew 22.30](/codex/matthew-22-30/) - [Matthew 22.37](/codex/matthew-22-37/) - [Matthew 22.37-39](/codex/matthew-22-37-39/) - [Matthew 22.37-40](/codex/matthew-22-37-40/) - [Matthew 26.57-68](/codex/matthew-26-57-68/) - [Matthew 26.63-64](/codex/matthew-26-63-64/) - [Matthew 3.16](/codex/matthew-3-16/) - [Matthew 3.16-17](/codex/matthew-3-16-17/) - [Matthew 6.24](/codex/matthew-6-24/) - [Matthew 6.25-34](/codex/matthew-6-25-34/) - [Matthew 9.4-8](/codex/matthew-9-4-8/) - [Philippians 2.11](/codex/philippians-2-11/) - [Philippians 2.12-13](/codex/philippians-2-12-13/) - [Philippians 2.5-7](/codex/philippians-2-5-7/) - [Philippians 2.5-8](/codex/philippians-2-5-8/) - [Philippians 2.6-8](/codex/philippians-2-6-8/) - [Philippians 2.8-11](/codex/philippians-2-8-11/) - [Philippians 3.12-14](/codex/philippians-3-12-14/) - [Philippians 4.19](/codex/philippians-4-19/) - [Philippians 4.6-7](/codex/philippians-4-6-7/) - [Philippians 4.7](/codex/philippians-4-7/) - [Revelation 1.5-6](/codex/revelation-1-5-6/) - [Revelation 12.10](/codex/revelation-12-10/) - [Revelation 18.6-8](/codex/revelation-18-6-8/) - [Revelation 19.11-16](/codex/revelation-19-11-16/) - [Revelation 19.9-10](/codex/revelation-19-9-10/) - [Revelation 21.1-3](/codex/revelation-21-1-3/) - [Revelation 21.22](/codex/revelation-21-22/) - [Revelation 21.3](/codex/revelation-21-3/) - [Revelation 21.6-7](/codex/revelation-21-6-7/) - [Revelation 21.7](/codex/revelation-21-7/) - [Revelation 22.1](/codex/revelation-22-1/) - [Revelation 22.18-19](/codex/revelation-22-18-19/) - [Revelation 3.1](/codex/revelation-3-1/) - [Revelation 4.5](/codex/revelation-4-5/) - [Revelation 5.6](/codex/revelation-5-6/) - [Revelation 5.8-9](/codex/revelation-5-8-9/) - [Revelation 6.9-11](/codex/revelation-6-9-11/) - [Revelation 7.9-10](/codex/revelation-7-9-10/) - [Romans 1.18](/codex/romans-1-18/) - [Romans 1.19](/codex/romans-1-19/) - [Romans 1.21-23](/codex/romans-1-21-23/) - [Romans 1.24-26](/codex/romans-1-24-26/) - [Romans 1.24-32](/codex/romans-1-24-32/) - [Romans 1.4](/codex/romans-1-4/) - [Romans 10](/codex/romans-10/) - [Romans 10.17](/codex/romans-10-17/) - [Romans 10.3](/codex/romans-10-3/) - [Romans 10.9-11](/codex/romans-10-9-11/) - [Romans 11.8](/codex/romans-11-8/) - [Romans 12](/codex/romans-12/) - [Romans 12.2](/codex/romans-12-2/) - [Romans 2.28-29](/codex/romans-2-28-29/) - [Romans 2.6-11](/codex/romans-2-6-11/) - [Romans 3.10-12](/codex/romans-3-10-12/) - [Romans 3.10-18](/codex/romans-3-10-18/) - [Romans 3.21](/codex/romans-3-21/) - [Romans 3.5-8](/codex/romans-3-5-8/) - [Romans 3.7](/codex/romans-3-7/) - [Romans 4.17](/codex/romans-4-17/) - [Romans 5.12-15](/codex/romans-5-12-15/) - [Romans 5.3-5](/codex/romans-5-3-5/) - [Romans 6.10](/codex/romans-6-10/) - [Romans 7](/codex/romans-7/) - [Romans 7.14-25](/codex/romans-7-14-25/) - [Romans 8](/codex/romans-8/) - [Romans 8.14](/codex/romans-8-14/) - [Romans 8.17](/codex/romans-8-17/) - [Romans 8.26-27](/codex/romans-8-26-27/) - [Romans 8.33](/codex/romans-8-33/) - [Romans 8.9](/codex/romans-8-9/) - [Romans 9.15-16](/codex/romans-9-15-16/) - [Romans 9.16](/codex/romans-9-16/) - [Titus 1.3](/codex/titus-1-3/) - [Titus 1.4](/codex/titus-1-4/) - [Titus 1.6-9](/codex/titus-1-6-9/) - [Titus 2.11](/codex/titus-2-11/)