The Beatitudes in Ancient Greek
“Blessed are the meek.” The Beatitudes open the Sermon on the Mount, and they suit beginners well, because the same short pattern repeats again and again. Once you can read one line, you are halfway through the next.
Learn to read this in Ancient Greek
Free, no account. Your first line takes about three minutes.
The text and translation
Ἰδὼν δὲ τοὺς ὄχλους ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος· καὶ καθίσαντος αὐτοῦ προσῆλθαν αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ·
Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
Word by word
- Ἰδὼν
- to see, look upon, experience
- δὲ
- but, on the other hand, and
- τοὺς
- the
- ὄχλους
- a crowd
- ἀνέβη
- to go up, mount, ascend
- εἰς
- into, in, among, till, for
- τὸ
- the
- ὄρος
- a mountain
- καὶ
- and, even, also, namely
- καθίσαντος
- to set, make to sit
- αὐτοῦ
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- προσῆλθαν
- to come near, consent to
- αὐτῷ
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- οἱ
- the
- μαθηταὶ
- a learner, disciple, pupil
- αὐτοῦ
- he, she, it, they, them, same
καὶ ἀνοίξας τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς λέγων·
He opened his mouth and taught them, saying,
Word by word
- καὶ
- and, even, also, namely
- ἀνοίξας
- to open
- τὸ
- the
- στόμα
- the mouth, speech
- αὐτοῦ
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- ἐδίδασκεν
- to teach
- αὐτοὺς
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- λέγων
- to say, speak
Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Word by word
- Μακάριοι
- happy, blessed
- οἱ
- the
- πτωχοὶ
- poor, destitute
- τῷ
- the
- πνεύματι
- wind, breath, spirit
- ὅτι
- that, since, because
- αὐτῶν
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- ἐστιν
- to be, exist
- ἡ
- the
- βασιλεία
- kingship, sovereignty, authority, rul...
- τῶν
- the
- οὐρανῶν
- the sky, the heaven
μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Word by word
- μακάριοι
- happy, blessed
- οἱ
- the
- πενθοῦντες
- to mourn, lament
- ὅτι
- that, since, because
- αὐτοὶ
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- παρακληθήσονται
- to summon, entreat, admonish, comfort
μακάριοι οἱ πραεῖς, ὅτι αὐτοὶ κληρονομήσουσι τὴν γῆν.
Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
Word by word
- μακάριοι
- happy, blessed
- οἱ
- the
- πραεῖς
- mild, gentle
- ὅτι
- that, since, because
- αὐτοὶ
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- κληρονομήσουσι
- to inherit, obtain
- τὴν
- the
- γῆν
- the earth, soil, land
μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην, ὅτι αὐτοὶ χορτασθήσονται.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
Word by word
- μακάριοι
- happy, blessed
- οἱ
- the
- πεινῶντες
- to be hungry, needy
- καὶ
- and, even, also, namely
- διψῶντες
- to thirst for, desire earnestly
- τὴν
- the
- δικαιοσύνην
- justice, justness, righteousness
- ὅτι
- that, since, because
- αὐτοὶ
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- χορτασθήσονται
- to feed, satisfy
μακάριοι οἱ ἐλεήμονες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Word by word
- μακάριοι
- happy, blessed
- οἱ
- the
- ἐλεήμονες
- full of pity, merciful
- ὅτι
- that, since, because
- αὐτοὶ
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- ἐλεηθήσονται
- to have mercy on, pity
μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν θεὸν ὄψονται.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Word by word
- μακάριοι
- happy, blessed
- οἱ
- the
- καθαροὶ
- clean, pure, unstained
- τῇ
- the
- καρδίᾳ
- the heart, inner life, intention
- ὅτι
- that, since, because
- αὐτοὶ
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- τὸν
- the
- θεὸν
- God, a god
- ὄψονται
- to see, look upon, experience
μακάριοι οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί, ὅτι αὐτοὶ υἱοὶ θεοῦ κληθήσονται.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
Word by word
- μακάριοι
- happy, blessed
- οἱ
- the
- εἰρηνοποιοί
- pacific, loving peace, a peace-maker
- ὅτι
- that, since, because
- αὐτοὶ
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- υἱοὶ
- a son, descendent
- θεοῦ
- God, a god
- κληθήσονται
- to call, invite, name
μακάριοι οἱ δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.
Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Word by word
- μακάριοι
- happy, blessed
- οἱ
- the
- δεδιωγμένοι
- to pursue, persecute
- ἕνεκεν
- for the sake of, on account of, where...
- δικαιοσύνης
- justice, justness, righteousness
- ὅτι
- that, since, because
- αὐτῶν
- he, she, it, they, them, same
- ἐστιν
- to be, exist
- ἡ
- the
- βασιλεία
- kingship, sovereignty, authority, rul...
- τῶν
- the
- οὐρανῶν
- the sky, the heaven
μακάριοί ἐστε ὅταν ὀνειδίσωσιν ὑμᾶς καὶ διώξωσιν καὶ εἴπωσιν πᾶν ⸀πονηρὸν καθ’ ὑμῶν ψευδόμενοι ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ.
“Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Word by word
- μακάριοί
- happy, blessed
- ἐστε
- to be, exist
- ὅταν
- when, whensoever
- ὀνειδίσωσιν
- to reproach, revile, upbraid
- ὑμᾶς
- you
- καὶ
- and, even, also, namely
- διώξωσιν
- to pursue, persecute
- καὶ
- and, even, also, namely
- εἴπωσιν
- to say, speak
- πᾶν
- all, the whole, every kind of
- ⸀πονηρὸν
- evil, bad, wicked
- καθ’
- down from, against, according to, thr...
- ὑμῶν
- you
- ψευδόμενοι
- to lie
- ἕνεκεν
- for the sake of, on account of, where...
- ἐμοῦ
- I
χαίρετε καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, ὅτι ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολὺς ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς· οὕτως γὰρ ἐδίωξαν τοὺς προφήτας τοὺς πρὸ ὑμῶν.
Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Word by word
- χαίρετε
- to rejoice, be glad
- καὶ
- and, even, also, namely
- ἀγαλλιᾶσθε
- to exult, be full of joy
- ὅτι
- that, since, because
- ὁ
- the
- μισθὸς
- wages, reward
- ὑμῶν
- you
- πολὺς
- much, many, often
- ἐν
- in, on, among
- τοῖς
- the
- οὐρανοῖς
- the sky, the heaven
- οὕτως
- thus, so
- γὰρ
- for
- ἐδίωξαν
- to pursue, persecute
- τοὺς
- the
- προφήτας
- a prophet, poet
- τοὺς
- the
- πρὸ
- before
- ὑμῶν
- you
What to notice
- Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι means “blessed are the poor in spirit”. Μακάριοι, “blessed” or “happy”, gives the Beatitudes their rhythm, and the verb “are” is simply left out.
- μακάριοι οἱ πραεῖς means “blessed are the gentle”, the line older English Bibles render “the meek”.
- οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί means “the peacemakers”. It is built from εἰρήνη, “peace”, and ποιέω, “make”, which is also where English gets the word poet: a maker.
Read it yourself
Urling teaches the words in this text first, so that when you reach it you can read it in Ancient Greek. It uses short lessons, and nothing has to be memorised from a list.
Learn to read this in Ancient Greek
Free, no account. Your first line takes about three minutes.
Sources
SBL Greek New Testament with MorphGNT tagging. English: World English Bible, which follows the Majority Text and may add words this edition does not have.
Text licence: Text CC BY 4.0 (SBLGNT); tagging CC BY-SA 3.0 (MorphGNT).
Language pack licence: Text CC BY 4.0 (SBLGNT); tagging CC BY-SA 3.0 (MorphGNT); glosses CC0.
Text: The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition, Copyright 2010 Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software (CC BY 4.0). Lemmas and parsing: MorphGNT (James Tauber et al., CC BY-SA 3.0). Glosses: Dodson Greek-English Lexicon (CC0), with AI-written corrections (marked "ai"). English: World English Bible (public domain, eBible.org); it translates the Majority Text, so a verse’s English sometimes has words this Greek edition does not (e.g. the end of the Lord’s Prayer).
The introduction and notes on this page were written by Claude (AI). Word glosses are AI-assisted, and so is the English unless the source above names another translator.