Matthew 5:8

Matthew 5:8 depicted in the window of a Trittenheim church

Matthew 5:8 is the eighth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It is the sixth verse of the Sermon on the Mount, and also sixth of what are known as the Beatitudes.

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

Blessed are the pure in heart:

for they shall see God.

The World English Bible translates the passage as:

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God.

For additional translations see here: Matthew 5:8

This verse is generally believed to have been taken from Psalm 24:3-5 either by Jesus or the author of Matthew who was adding this verse that is not found in Luke. A number of scholars have been certain that there were originally seven Beatitudes, as seven was a holy number. Since this verse is so similar to the Psalm some believe it was the one incorrectly integrated into the Sermon on the Mount. Hill speculates that the verse could actually be a mistranslation of Isaiah 61:1, and should have read "only the contrite will see God."^[1]

The word purity is not believed to refer to one who was ritually cleansed, but rather to internal spiritual purity as noted by the "in heart" addition. At the time the heart was literally seen as the seat of emotion and the soul, though today the verse is read metaphorically. Davies and Allison read a pure heart as being one that is simple and undivided in allegiance.^[2]

References

• Albright, W.F. and C.S. Mann. "Matthew." The Anchor Bible Series. New York: Doubleday & Company, 1971.