The Beatitudes
The English language struggles with the power of the words.
The Sermon on the Mount begins with the Beatitudes: eight short statements (or seven as some theologians link the last two) are that many can recite from memory but can be so difficult to understand.
One key problem is language.
The Beatitudes start with the Hebrew word ‘asher’ that means ‘blessed’, ‘happy’ and ‘fortunate’ all at the same time. [source]
The problem is that there is no corresponding word in English. We should therefore translate the Beatitudes as ‘Blessed/Happy/Fortunate are the poor in spirit …’ But this is clumsy and different translators select one; ‘Blessed are …’, ‘Happy are …’. But none are fully correct. For example it is paradoxical to mourn and be happy at the same time.
Perhaps we can say that to be blessed is to be approved by God; this makes us happy; and how fortunate we are that God gives us His approval?
And there are many other words that don’t quite mean what we might expect them to mean based on current English usage – such as ‘poor’ and ‘mourn’. As with all our Bible the more we study the more wonderful God’s words become.
Also note the tense pattern; only the first and last Beatitudes are in the present tense, all others are in the future tense. [source]
| Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven | Present |
| Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted | Future |
| Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. | Future |
| Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. | Future |
| Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. | Future |
| Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. | Future |
| Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. | Future |
| Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. | Present |
| Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. | Present |
image: http://easter.org/wordpress/?page_id=5232
