Bible verses about

Bible Verses About Blessing

12 verses · ESV & King James Version

Blessed has drifted a long way. It now mostly means fortunate — a word for a good outcome, usually attached to a photograph.

Scripture uses it for something else. In the Beatitudes it is attached to mourning and persecution. In Numbers it is a priest speaking over people who own nothing. In Ephesians it describes something already given, in a realm nobody can photograph.

Twelve passages below, quoted in full in both translations. If you have ever felt the word does not apply to you, the Matthew 5 note is the place to start.

12 verses for when you need them

  1. The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

    Numbers 6:24-26 ESV

    The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

    Numbers 6:24-26 KJV

    The oldest blessing in the book, spoken by priests over a people with no land and no settled home. Every clause is something done to them — bless, keep, shine, be gracious, give peace — and none of it is earned in the sentence.

  2. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

    Matthew 5:3-4 ESV

    Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

    Matthew 5:3-4 KJV

    Blessed are the poor in spirit, and they that mourn. The word is attached to the two conditions least likely to be described as fortunate, which is the clearest evidence that it does not mean fortunate.

  3. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

    Psalm 1:1-2 ESV

    Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

    Psalm 1:1-2 KJV

    The nearest thing to a definition: blessed is the one whose delight is in the law of the LORD. It is about what a life is rooted in rather than what has happened to it.

  4. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

    Jeremiah 17:7-8 ESV

    Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

    Jeremiah 17:7-8 KJV

    The tree by the water does not avoid the drought — it does not fear when heat comes, and its leaf stays green. The blessing described is survival through, not exemption from.

  5. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

    Ephesians 1:3 ESV

    Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

    Ephesians 1:3 KJV

    Blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Past tense and located outside your circumstances, which makes it something to be told rather than something to be waited for.

  6. The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

    Proverbs 10:22 ESV

    The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

    Proverbs 10:22 KJV

    The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. The second clause is the interesting one — it distinguishes this from the kind of gain that arrives with a cost attached.

  7. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,

    Psalm 103:2 ESV

    Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

    Psalm 103:2 KJV

    Forget not all his benefits. The instruction is against forgetting, which assumes the benefits are already there and the problem is attention rather than supply.

  8. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

    Genesis 12:2 ESV

    And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

    Genesis 12:2 KJV

    I will bless thee, and thou shalt be a blessing. The blessing is given and then immediately made transitive — it arrives pointed at someone else, which is the pattern the rest of Scripture follows.

  9. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

    James 1:17 ESV

    Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

    James 1:17 KJV

    Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. The reason given is the absence of variableness — the giving is described as steady because the giver is, not because circumstances are.

  10. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.

    Psalm 84:11 ESV

    For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

    Psalm 84:11 KJV

    No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. The load-bearing words are good thing, which is a judgement made by the giver rather than the asker — and that is where most disappointment with this verse comes from.

  11. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.

    Deuteronomy 28:2 ESV

    And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

    Deuteronomy 28:2 KJV

    All these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee. Overtake is a pursuit word: the blessings are described as chasing rather than waiting, which is a striking image in a chapter mostly about obedience.

  12. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

    Matthew 5:10-12 ESV

    Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

    Matthew 5:10-12 KJV

    Blessed are they which are persecuted. Jesus goes further and says rejoice, and the reason given is company — so persecuted were the prophets. The comfort offered is that this is a recognisable pattern, not a mistake.

Set them side by side and blessed clearly does not mean fortunate.

Matthew 5 attaches it to mourning, meekness and being persecuted — which is not a list anyone would choose. Jeremiah attaches it to trust, and the picture given is a tree that survives drought rather than one that avoids it. Ephesians puts the blessing in heavenly places, past the reach of circumstance entirely.

The closest thing to a definition is Psalm 1: blessed is the person whose delight is in the law of the LORD. It is about what you are rooted in, not what has happened to you.

Which means the word is available on the worst week of your life, and the version of it printed under holiday photographs is the smaller thing borrowing the name.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version, which is in the public domain. Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.