Matthew 5:9
Listen to this page
Open the MP3 directly
The context
The beatitudes open the Sermon on the Mount, and this one follows mercy and purity of heart and precedes the saying about persecution. The form is a pronouncement of blessing with a reason attached. The Sermon then goes on to demand a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees and to address anger, lust and oaths.
What it establishes
Peacemaking is presented as active work, not merely a disposition or the avoidance of conflict. The promise attached is the name sons of God, which ties the practice to a family resemblance. The beatitude assumes that peace is something made.
What it does not establish
It does not equate peacemaking with keeping quiet. The same Sermon demands truth, purity and a righteousness that confronts; peace is not the absence of disagreement. Nor does the verse promise that peacemakers will be received well, since the next beatitude concerns persecution.
Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.
Cited in these answers
Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.