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Read the Bible

Literal Standard Version

Matthew 5:5

Blessed the meek—because they will inherit the land.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Character;   Graces;   Happiness;   Instruction;   Meekness;   Readings, Select;   Religion;   Righteous;   Thompson Chain Reference - Beatitudes of Christ;   Earthly;   Heritage;   Meekness;   Meekness-Retaliation;   Promises, Divine;   The Topic Concordance - Blessings;   Disciples/apostles;   Inheritance;   Light;   Meekness;   Salt;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Blessed, the;   Character of Saints;   Conduct, Christian;   Earth, the;   Happiness of Saints in This Life;   Hypocrites;   Jerusalem;   Meekness;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Blessing;   Matthew, gospel of;   Meekness;   Sermon on the mount;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Beatitudes;   Blessing;   Gospel;   Humility;   Jesus Christ;   Meekness;   Prophet, Christ as;   Suffering;   Wisdom;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Humility;   Hutchinsonians;   Love, Brotherly;   Means of Grace;   Meekness;   Quakers;   Reconciliation;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Meekness;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Isaac;   Thousand Years;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Beatitudes;   Blessing and Cursing;   Humility;   Inheritance;   Matthew, the Gospel of;   Meekness;   Mount of the Beatitudes;   Sermon on the Mount;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Beatitudes;   Christianity;   Ethics;   Meekness;   Mss;   Quotations;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Activity;   Beatitude;   Blessing (2);   Children of God;   Consciousness;   Consolation;   Entry into Jerusalem;   Gentleness (2);   Happiness;   Heir;   Heir Heritage Inheritance;   Ideal;   Judgment;   Lots;   Meekness;   Meekness (2);   Mission;   Numbers (2);   Palestine;   Perfection (Human);   Personality;   Popularity ;   Prophet;   Psalms (2);   Quotations (2);   Rebuke;   Religious Experience;   Rest (2);   Right (2);   Sanctify, Sanctification;   Supremacy;   Vengeance (2);   Woe;   Womanliness;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Beatitudes, the;   34 Meekness Quietness;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Millenarians;   Pharisees;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Jesus of Nazareth;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Beatitudes;   Heavens, New (and Earth, New);   Inheritance;   Joy;   Number;   Priesthood;   Repentance;   Sermon on the Mount, the;   Washing of Feet;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Resurrection;  

Devotionals:

- Daily Light on the Daily Path - Devotion for October 7;   Every Day Light - Devotion for June 3;   Today's Word from Skip Moen - Devotion for June 10;   My Utmost for His Highest - Devotion for July 25;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Blessed are the humble,
King James Version (1611)
Blessed are the meeke: for they shall inherit the earth.
King James Version
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
English Standard Version
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
New American Standard Bible
"Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth.
New Century Version
They are blessed who are humble, for the whole earth will be theirs.
Amplified Bible
"Blessed [inwardly peaceful, spiritually secure, worthy of respect] are the gentle [the kind-hearted, the sweet-spirited, the self-controlled], for they will inherit the earth.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Blessed are the meeke: for they shall inherite the earth.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
Legacy Standard Bible
Blessed are the lowly, for they shall inherit the earth.
Berean Standard Bible
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Contemporary English Version
God blesses those people who are humble. The earth will belong to them!
Complete Jewish Bible
"How blessed are the meek! for they will inherit the Land!
Darby Translation
Blessed the meek, for *they* shall inherit the earth.
Easy-to-Read Version
Great blessings belong to those who are humble. They will be given the land God promised.
George Lamsa Translation
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Good News Translation
"Happy are those who are humble; they will receive what God has promised!
Lexham English Bible
Blessed are the meek, because they will inherit the earth.
Literal Translation
Blessed are the meek! For they shall inherit the earth. Psa. 37:11
American Standard Version
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Bible in Basic English
Happy are the gentle: for the earth will be their heritage.
Hebrew Names Version
Blessed are the humble, For they shall inherit the eretz.
International Standard Version
"How blessed are those who are humble,gentle
">[fn]Psalm 37:11; Romans 4:13;">[xr] for it is they who will inherit the earth!
Etheridge Translation
Blessed the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Murdock Translation
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth!
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Blessed (are) the meke: for they shall inherite the earth.
English Revised Version
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
World English Bible
"Blessed are the humble, for they shall inherit the earth.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Happy are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.
Weymouth's New Testament
"Blessed are the meek, for they as heirs shall obtain possession of the earth.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Blessid ben thei that mornen, for thei schulen be coumfortid.
Update Bible Version
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Webster's Bible Translation
Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
New English Translation
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
New King James Version
Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
New Living Translation
God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.
New Life Bible
Those who have no pride in their hearts are happy, because the earth will be given to them.
New Revised Standard
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Happy, the meek; for, they, shall inherit the earth:
Douay-Rheims Bible
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Revised Standard Version
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Blessed are the meke: for they shall inheret the erth.
Young's Literal Translation
`Happy the meek -- because they shall inherit the land.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Blessed are the meke: for they shall inheret the erth.
Mace New Testament (1729)
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
THE MESSAGE
"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.
Simplified Cowboy Version
God takes mighty good care of those who don't think very highly of themselves and he's gonna give 'em everything one day.

Contextual Overview

3"Blessed the poor in spirit—because theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. 4Blessed the mourning—because they will be comforted. 5Blessed the meek—because they will inherit the land.6Blessed those hungering and thirsting for righteousness—because they will be filled. 7Blessed the kind—because they will find kindness. 8Blessed the clean in heart—because they will see God. 9Blessed the peacemakers—because they will be called sons of God. 10Blessed those persecuted for righteousness' sake—because theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. 11Blessed are you whenever they may reproach you, and may persecute, and may say any evil thing against you falsely for My sake— 12rejoice and be glad, because your reward [is] great in the heavens, for thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the meek: Matthew 11:29, Matthew 21:5, Numbers 12:3, Psalms 22:26, Psalms 25:9, Psalms 69:32, *marg. Psalms 147:6, Psalms 149:4, Isaiah 11:4, Isaiah 29:19, Isaiah 61:1, Zephaniah 2:3, Galatians 5:23, Ephesians 4:2, Colossians 3:12, 1 Timothy 6:11, 2 Timothy 2:25, Titus 3:2, James 1:21, James 3:13, 1 Peter 3:4, 1 Peter 3:15

they: Psalms 25:13, Psalms 37:9, Psalms 37:11, Psalms 37:22, Psalms 37:29, Psalms 37:34, Isaiah 60:21, Romans 4:13

Reciprocal: Genesis 13:15 - General Numbers 26:53 - General Psalms 76:9 - to save Romans 12:18 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 3:19
by the sweat of your face you eat bread until your return to the ground, for you have been taken out of it, for dust you [are], and to dust you return."
Genesis 5:7
And Seth lives after his begetting Enos eight hundred and seven years [[or seven hundred and seven years]], and begets sons and daughters.
Genesis 5:8
And all the days of Seth are nine hundred and twelve years, and he dies.
Genesis 5:10
And Enos lives after his begetting Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years [[or seven hundred and fifteen years]], and begets sons and daughters.
Genesis 5:11
And all the days of Enos are nine hundred and five years, and he dies.
Genesis 5:12
And Cainan lives seventy years [[or one hundred and seventy years]], and begets Mahalaleel.
Genesis 5:14
And all the days of Cainan are nine hundred and ten years, and he dies.
Genesis 5:21
And Enoch lives sixty-five years [[or one hundred and sixty-five years]], and begets Methuselah.
Genesis 5:22
And Enoch habitually walks with God after his begetting Methuselah three hundred years [[or two hundred years]], and begets sons and daughters.
Genesis 5:32
And Noah is a son of five hundred years, and Noah begets Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Blessed are the meek,.... Who are not easily provoked to anger; who patiently bear, and put up with injuries and affronts; carry themselves courteously, and affably to all; have the meanest thoughts of themselves, and the best of others; do not envy the gifts and graces of other men; are willing to be instructed and admonished, by the meanest of the saints; quietly submit to the will of God, in adverse dispensations of providence; and ascribe all they have, and are, to the grace of God. Meekness, or humility, is very valuable and commendable. The Jews, though a proud, haughty, and wrathful people, cannot but speak in its praise:

"Wisdom, fear, and meekness, say b they, are of high esteem; but ענוה, "meekness", is greater than them all.''

They had two very considerable doctors in the time of Christ, Hillell and Shammai; the one was of a meek, the other of an angry disposition: hence, say they c,

"Let a man be always meek as Hillell, and let him not be angry as Shammai.''

Here meekness is to be considered, not as a moral virtue, but as a Christian grace, a fruit of the Spirit of God; which was eminently in Christ, and is very ornamental to believers; and of great advantage and use to them, in hearing and receiving the word; in giving an account of the reason of the hope that is in them; in instructing and restoring such, who have backslidden, either in principle or practice; and in the whole of their lives and conversations; and serves greatly to recommend religion to others: such who are possessed of it, and exercise it, are well pleasing to God; when disconsolate, he comforts them; when hungry, he satisfies them; when they want direction, he gives it to them; when wronged, he will do them right; he gives them more grace here, and glory hereafter. The blessing instanced, in which they shall partake of, is,

they shall inherit the earth; not the land of Canaan, though that may be alluded to; nor this world, at least in its present situation; for this is not the saints' rest and inheritance: but rather, the "new earth", which will be after this is burnt up; in which only such persons as are here described shall dwell; and who shall inherit it, by virtue of their being heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; whose is the earth, and the fulness thereof. Though some think heaven is here designed, and is so called, partly for the sake of variety of expression, from Matthew 5:3 and partly in allusion to the land of Canaan, a type of it; and may be called an earth, or country, that is an heavenly one, in opposition to this earthly one; as the heavenly Jerusalem is opposed to the earthly one, and which will be a glorious inheritance. The passage, referred to is Psalms 37:11.

b Piske Tosaphot Yebamot, art. 196. c T. Bab. Sabbat. fol. 30. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The meek - Meekness is patience in the reception of injuries. It is neither meanness nor a surrender of our rights, nor cowardice; but it is the opposite of sudden anger, of malice, of long-harbored vengeance. Christ insisted on his right when he said, “If I have done evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou me?” John 18:23. Paul asserted his right when he said, “They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves, and fetch us out,” Acts 16:37. And yet Christ was the very model of meekness. It was one of his characteristics, “I am meek,” Matthew 11:29. So of Paul. No man endured more wrong, or endured it more patiently than he. Yet the Saviour and the apostle were not passionate. They bore all patiently. They did not press their rights through thick and thin, or trample down the rights of others to secure their own.

Meekness is the reception of injuries with a belief that God will vindicate us. “Vengeance is his; he will repay,” Romans 12:19. It little becomes us to take his place, and to do what he has promised to do.

Meekness produces peace. It is proof of true greatness of soul. It comes from a heart too great to be moved by little insults. It looks upon those who offer them with pity. He that is constantly ruffled; that suffers every little insult or injury to throw him off his guard and to raise a storm of passion within, is at the mercy of every mortal that chooses to disturb him. He is like “the troubled sea that cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.”

They shall inherit the earth - This might have been translated the land. It is probable that here is a reference to the manner in which the Jews commonly expressed themselves to denote any great blessing. It was promised to them that they should inherit the land of Canaan. For a long time the patriarchs looked forward to this, Genesis 15:7-8; Exodus 32:13. They regarded it as a great blessing. It was so spoken of in the journey in the wilderness, and their hopes were crowned when they took possession of the promised land, Deuteronomy 1:38; Deuteronomy 16:20. In the time of our Saviour they were in the constant habit of using the Old Testament, where this promise perpetually occurs, and they used it “as a proverbial expression to denote any great blessing, perhaps as the sum of all blessings,” Psalms 37:20; Isaiah 60:21. Our Saviour used it in this sense, and meant to say, not that the meek would own great property or have many lands, but that they would possess special blessings. The Jews also considered the land of Canaan as a type of heaven, and of the blessings under the Messiah. To inherit the land became, therefore, an expression denoting those blessings. When our Saviour uses this language here, he means that the meek shall be received into his kingdom, and partake of its blessings here, and of the glories of the heavenly Canaan hereafter. The value of meekness, even in regard to worldly property and success in life, is often exhibited in the Scriptures, Proverbs 22:24-25; Proverbs 15:1; Proverbs 25:8, Proverbs 25:15. It is also seen in common life that a meek, patient, mild man is the most prospered. An impatient and quarrelsome man raises up enemies; often loses property in lawsuits; spends his time in disputes and broils rather than in sober, honest industry; and is harassed, vexed, and unsuccessful in all that he does. “Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come,” 1 Timothy 4:8. Compare 1 Timothy 6:3-6.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 5:5. Blessed are the meek — Happy, οι πραεις, from ραος, easy, those who are of a quiet, gentle spirit, in opposition to the proud and supercilious Scribes and Pharisees and their disciples. We have a compound word in English, which once fully expressed the meaning of the original, viz. gentleman; but it has now almost wholly lost its original signification. Our word meek comes from the old Anglo-saxon meca, or meccea, a companion or equal, because he who is of a meek or gentle spirit, is ever ready to associate with the meanest of those who fear God, feeling himself superior to none; and well knowing that he has nothing of spiritual or temporal good but what he has received from the mere bounty of God, having never deserved any favour from his hand.

For they shall inherit the earth. — Or, την γην, the land. Under this expression, which was commonly used by the prophets to signify the land of Canaan, in which all temporal good abounded, Judges 18:9-10, Jesus Christ points out that abundance of spiritual good, which was provided for men in the Gospel. Besides, Canaan was a type of the kingdom of God; and who is so likely to inherit glory as the man in whom the meekness and gentleness of Jesus dwell? In some good MSS. and several ancient versions, the fourth and fifth verses are transposed: see the authorities in the various readings in Professor Griesbach's edition. The present arrangement certainly is most natural:

1. Poverty, to which the promise of the kingdom is made.

2. Mourning or distress, on account of this impoverished state, to which consolation is promised. And

3. Meekness established in the heart by the consolations received.


 
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