Matthew 5:3
What does Matthew 5:3 mean?
A plain-English look at Matthew 5:3 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Matthew 5:3 means
Jesus declares blessed those who recognize their spiritual destitution and utter dependence on God. To be "poor in spirit" is not about financial poverty, but a humble awareness of one's own sinfulness and inability to achieve righteousness through personal effort. This profound humility is the doorway to God's grace. For such individuals, Jesus states that the Kingdom of Heaven, with all its spiritual blessings and ultimate reign with Christ, is already theirs to possess.
Matthew 5:3 in context
Matthew 5 — The Beatitudes
Jesus opens his Sermon on the Mount with eight pronouncements that turn the world's value system upside down. Blessing belongs not to the proud and self-sufficient but to the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the hungry for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted. In a few sentences he sketches the character of the citizens of the kingdom of heaven, and then calls them salt of the earth and light of the world.
- Kingdom ethics
- Inner righteousness
- True blessedness
- Light and salt
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Happy are the poor in spirit: for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862`Happy the poor in spirit--because theirs is the reign of the heavens.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Blessed [are] the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.
Context
This is the first of the Beatitudes, beginning Jesus' description of the character of citizens in the Kingdom of Heaven. It foundationaly establishes humility and spiritual dependence as the entry point into God's reign, leading directly into other essential godly characteristics that follow in the subsequent Beatitudes.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Matthew 13:16
But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.
- Revelation 22:14
Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have the right to come to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city.
- Luke 6:20
And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessedare ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
- Psalms 146:5
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in Jehovah his God:
- Psalms 34:18
Jehovah is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, And saveth such as are of a contrite spirit.
- Micah 6:8
He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Sermon ideas from Matthew 5:3
Angles a pastor or small-group leader might preach or teach from this passage, drawn from the chapter's main themes.
What Matthew 5:3 teaches us about kingdom ethics
What Matthew 5:3 teaches us about inner righteousness
What Matthew 5:3 teaches us about true blessedness
What Matthew 5:3 teaches us about light and salt
Related questions readers ask
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