Matthew 5:6

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Matthew 5:6
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Matthew 5:6 depicted in the window of a Trittenheim church
Book Gospel of Matthew
Christian Bible part New Testament

Matthew 5:6 is the sixth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It is the fourth verse of the Sermon on the Mount, and also the fourth of what are known as the Beatitudes. Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst Not after the riches, honours, and pleasures of this world, but

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after righteousness; by which is meant, not justice and equity, as persons oppressed and injured; nor a moral, legal righteousness, which the generality of the Jewish nation were eagerly pursuing; but the justifying righteousness of Christ, which is imputed by God the Father, and received by faith. To "hunger and thirst" after this, supposes a want of righteousness, which is the case of all men; a sense of want of it, which is only perceived by persons spiritually enlightened; a discovery of the righteousness of Christ to them, which is made in the Gospel, and by the Spirit of God; a value for it, and a preference of it to all other righteousness; and an earnest desire after it, to be possessed of it, and found in it; and that nothing can be more grateful than that, because of its perfection, purity, suitableness, and use: happy souls are these,

for they shall be filled: with that righteousness, and with all other good things, in consequence of it; and particularly with joy and peace, which are the certain effects of it: or, "they shall be satisfied", that they have an interest in it; and so satisfied with it, that they shall never seek for any other righteousness, as a justifying one, in the sight of God; this being full, perfect, sufficient, and entirely complete.

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In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

Blessed are they which do hunger
and thirst after righteousness:
for they shall be filled

The World English Bible translates the passage as:

Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst after righteousness,
for they shall be filled.

For a collection of other versions see BibleHub Matthew 5:6

Analysis

Albright and Mann note that fasting was a common sign of righteousness, and one that Jesus has already endured at Matthew 4:2. The metaphor of God or the messiah as a feast ending a fast occurs several times in the scripture including Isaiah 55:1, Jeremiah 31:25, and Psalm 107:9. [1]

Like the first two Beatitudes this one seems to be similar to one in Luke, in this case with Luke 6:21. Luke only has the blessed hunger, Gundry feels the author of Matthew added thirst to match Isaiah 49:10. [2] Schweizer feels that the addition of thirst is a minor one, but the addition of the word righteousness is a major one. As with Matthew 5:3, the author of Matthew turns a phrase that focuses on the merely physical in Luke into one far more focused on the spiritual. Righteousness is one of the key concepts in the Gospel of Matthew, though what exactly is meant by the term is not always clear. [3] All the references to righteousness in the Gospel are unique to Matthew, and thus likely are additions by the author. [4]

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Matthew 4:4

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Matthew 4:9

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Matthew 5:4

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Matthew 5:5

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Matthew 5

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Matthew 5:7

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Matthew 5:8

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Matthew 5:10

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Matthew 5:11

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Matthew 5:14

Matthew 5:14 is the fourteenth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It is part of the Sermon on the Mount, and is one of a series of metaphors immediately following the Beatitudes.

Matthew 5:22

Matthew 5:22 is the twenty-second verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. It is the first of what have traditionally been known as the 6 Antitheses. In this one, Jesus compares the current interpretation of "You shall not murder" from the Ten Commandments with his own interpretation.

Matthew 5:33

Matthew 5:33 is the thirty-third verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This verse is the opening of the fourth antithesis, beginning the discussion of oaths.

Matthew 5:35–36

Matthew 5:35 and Matthew 5:36 are the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth verses of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. They are part of the Sermon on the Mount. These verses are part of either the third or fourth antithesis, the discussion of oaths. Jesus tells his listeners in Matthew 5:34 "to swear not at all" and in here presents examples of unacceptable swearing.

Matthew 5:39

Matthew 5:39 is the thirty-ninth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This is the second verse of the antithesis on the command: "eye for an eye". In one of the most famous verses in the New Testament, Jesus here rejects revenge and retaliation, instead telling his followers to turn the other cheek.

References

  1. Albright, W.F. and C.S. Mann. "Matthew." The Anchor Bible Series. New York: Doubleday & Company, 1971.
  2. Gundry, Robert H. Matthew a Commentary on his Literary and Theological Art. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982.
  3. Schweizer, Eduard. The Good News According to Matthew. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1975
  4. Boring, Eugene "Gospel of Matthew." The New Interpreter's Bible, volume 8 Abingdon, 1995 pg. 179
Preceded by
Matthew 5:5
Gospel of Matthew
Chapter 5
Succeeded by
Matthew 5:7