New King James Version
Matthew 5:8
8Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
- New International Version (NIV)Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
- New Living Translation (NLT)God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.
Context of Matthew 5:8
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. 7Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. 10Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Read all of Matthew 5Matthew 5:8 word by word
Μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν θεὸν ὄψονται.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Matthew 5:8
- Matthew 23:25“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.
- 1 Chronicles 29:17I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You.
- Psalms 15:2He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart;
- Psalms 18:26With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
- Psalms 24:4He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.
- Psalms 51:6Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
- Psalms 73:1Truly God is good to Israel, To such as are pure in heart.
- Proverbs 22:11He who loves purity of heart And has grace on his lips, The king will be his friend.
- Ezekiel 36:25Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
- Acts 15:9and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
- 2 Corinthians 7:1Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
- Hebrews 9:14how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
- Hebrews 10:22let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
- James 3:17But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
- James 4:8Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- 1 Peter 1:22Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
Commentaries on Matthew 5:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Pure in heart - In opposition to the Pharisees, who affected outward purity, while their hearts were full of corruption and defilement. A principal part of the Jewish religion consisted in outward washings and cleansings: on this ground they expected to see God, to enjoy eternal glory: but Christ here shows that a purification of the heart, from all vile affections and desires, is essentially requisite in order to enter into the kingdom of God. He whose…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Blessed are the pure in heart - That is, whose minds, motives, and principles are pure; who seek not only to have the external actions correct, but who desire to be holy in heart, and who are so. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. They shall see God - There is a sense in which all will see God, Revelation 1:7. That is, they will behold him as a Judge, not as a Friend. In this place it is spoken of as a special favor. So also…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-12Verses 3-12 Our Saviour here gives eight characters of blessed people, which represent to us the principal graces of a Christian. 1. The poor in spirit are happy. These bring their minds to their condition, when it is a low condition. They are humble and lowly in their own eyes. They see their want, bewail their guilt, and thirst after a Redeemer. The kingdom of grace is of such; the kingdom of glory is for them. 2. Those that mourn are happy. That godly…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8The pure in heart (see Psalms 24:3–5; 51:7; Isaiah 6:5) differ from those who believed they could please God by following human traditions (see Matthew 23:25–26). Jesus emphasized simple, genuine righteousness from within (see 6:1–24; 15:1–20; 23:23–28; Deuteronomy 6:5). They will see God and achieve more than Moses did (see Exodus 33:18–23; 34:5–7; see also Psalm 73:1).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God--Here, too, we are on Old Testament ground. There the difference between outward and inward purity, and the acceptableness of the latter only in the sight of God, are everywhere taught. Nor is the "vision of God" strange to the Old Testament; and though it was an understood thing that this was not possible in the present life (Ex 33:20; and compare Job 19:26, 27; Is 6:5), yet spiritually it was…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 5:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries