The Beatitudes are nine sentences Jesus said at the opening of the Sermon on the Mount, and every one of them starts with the word blessed. They sit in Matthew 5:3-12. Most printed lists call them the eight Beatitudes. This page gives all nine in full from the Berean Standard Bible, a plain line under each, the reason the count is argued over, and the place where Luke tells the same sermon with different words.
The nine Beatitudes, word for word
Read the Bible text out loud first and give the plain line second, so the children hear the sentence before they hear a summary of it.
Poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3)
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Knowing you need God, and not pretending otherwise. For a child: you do not have to act like you have everything figured out.
Those who mourn (Matthew 5:4)
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
People who are sad, including sad about their own wrong. Jesus does not tell them to cheer up. He says comfort is coming.
The meek (Matthew 5:5)
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Gentle, and not pushing to the front.
That sentence is a quotation. Jesus is repeating a line that was already sitting in the Psalms, in almost the same words.
But the meek will inherit the land and delight in abundant prosperity.
Hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6)
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Wanting things to be put right the way a hungry person wants food. Not a mild preference.
The merciful (Matthew 5:7)
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Going easy on someone when you could have made it hard for them.
The pure in heart (Matthew 5:8)
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
The same on the inside as on the outside. Not putting on a face.
The peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Making peace, which is a different job from staying quiet.
Persecuted because of righteousness (Matthew 5:10)
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Treated badly for doing the right thing. The reward here is word for word the same as the first one.
Insulted and lied about (Matthew 5:11-12)
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 before you.
The same promise again, said straight to the listener, with an instruction attached. This pair is why the count is argued over.
Why most lists say eight and this page says nine
Count the sentences beginning with the word blessed in Matthew 5:3-12 and you get nine. Nearly every printed list, poster and worksheet says eight. Both counts are reading the same text.
The split is in the shape of the sentences. The first eight are built the same way every time: blessed are these people, for this is what they get. Verse 3 and verse 10 close with word for word the same reward, which shuts the set where it opened.
Verse 11 breaks that shape. It switches to you, it names no reward of its own, and the reward arrives in verse 12 instead. Traditional lists therefore fold verses 11 and 12 back into verse 10 and stop at eight. The English word carries that habit: beatitude comes from the Latin beatitudo, a state of blessedness, and by the 1520s the plural was being used for the eight blessings of Matthew 5.
What this costs a teacher. A child counting along in an open Bible gets nine. The handout in front of them says eight, so one of the two looks wrong. Thirty seconds of explanation ends it.
Luke tells the same sermon differently, and children notice
Luke 6:20-26 carries a version of these sayings that is not a paraphrase of Matthew. It is shorter, it is aimed straight at the listener, and it adds a second half that Matthew has no equivalent for.
Looking up at His disciples, Jesus said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Matthew says poor in spirit. Luke says you who are poor. Matthew says hunger and thirst for righteousness. Luke says you who hunger now. A child reading along in Luke sees different words on the page.
| Matthew 5:3-12 | Luke 6:20-22 |
|---|---|
| Blessed are the poor in spirit | Blessed are you who are poor |
| Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness | Blessed are you who hunger now |
| Blessed are those who mourn | Blessed are you who weep now |
| Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness | Blessed are you when people hate you |
Then Luke keeps going where Matthew stops.
But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
Counted from the text, Matthew 5:3-12 holds nine blessings and no warnings. Luke 6:20-26 holds four blessings and four warnings, one warning answering each blessing.
The settings are described differently too, which is the other thing a sharp child spots.
When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain and sat down. His disciples came to Him,
Then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples was there, along with a great number of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.
What to say if it comes up. Matthew and Luke describe different settings and use different words, and neither one is the corrected version of the other. The Gospels describe Jesus teaching all over the region rather than in one fixed place.
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
A teaching that turns up twice, in two settings and two shapes, is what that description already leads you to expect. The answer is short, it is true, and it does not ask a child to pick a side.
Teaching this in one session
Take one saying per session rather than the whole set.
- Read Matthew 5:3-12 straight through from an open Bible. Ask the children to count the blessed lines on their fingers.
- Pick one and stay on it. Any of verses 3 to 10 stands on its own, because each of those carries both halves of the sentence. Verses 11 and 12 lean on the ones before them.
- Split the sentence in half out loud. Who is blessed, and what do they get. Those two halves are the whole structure.
- Ask for one real example from their own week rather than a made-up one.
- Close by reading verse 12. It is the only line in Matthew 5:3-12 that gives an instruction rather than a description.
Where the printables, crafts and full lesson plans are
People searching for the Beatitudes for kids are mostly looking for materials rather than an explanation. Google autocomplete for that phrase returns worksheet, video, printable, free printable, coloring sheet, lesson, craft and activities. This page has none of those, so here is where they actually live.
- Beatitudes Lessons for Kids (Matthew 5:1-12) at Ministry to Children, the first of a nine-lesson series covering one beatitude at a time, each with a game and a craft.
- The Beatitudes (Luke 6:17-26) Sunday School Lesson, the preschool version built on the Luke passage, with a full teaching script.
- A children’s sermon object lesson on Matthew 5:1-12 with a downloadable PDF, for a five-minute slot rather than a full class.
- A Matthew 5:3-12 lesson written for teenagers, if the group is older than this page assumes.