makarios · blessed, happy

What it means

makarios (μακάριος) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “blessed, happy”.

Blessed: truly happy, in the condition God blesses. It is the "happy" or "blessed" of the Psalms.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. Truly blessed by God, and so full of joy.

From Abbott-Smith (1922) · Thayer (1889)

Word study

Happy: truly fortunate, in a good condition because of what God gives or does. It is the word with which the beatitudes begin. Of the same family is μακαρίζω, ‘call happy’.

• The beatitudes: “Happy {are} the poor” Matthew 5:3Luke 6:20
• “Happy are those who have not seen and yet have believed” John 20:29Luke 1:45
• “Happy {are those} whose iniquities were forgiven” Romans 4:7
• Sayings in Revelation Revelation 19:9Revelation 14:13Revelation 22:14
• “The happy and only Sovereign”: said of God 1 Timothy 6:15

How we translate it

“Happy” 30 times and “Happy are” 19, once “happier”. This edition’s glossary sets makarios = ‘happy’, like אַשְׁרֵי (H835) in the Psalms, and keeps ‘blessed’ for בָּרוּךְ, εὐλογητός and εὐλογέω; a note in Matthew 5:3 explains it: happy, like the “happy” of the Psalms.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• happy ×30
• Happy are ×19
• happier ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Matthew×13
• Luke×15
• John×2
• Acts×2
• Romans×3
• 1 Corinthians×1
• 1 Timothy×2
• Titus×1
• James×2
• 1 Peter×2
• Revelation×7

• Matthew 5:3

  “Happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

• Matthew 5:4

  Happy are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

• Matthew 5:5

  Happy are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

• Matthew 5:6

  Happy are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

• Matthew 5:7

  Happy are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

• Matthew 5:8

  Happy are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

• Matthew 5:9

  Happy are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

• Matthew 5:10

  Happy are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

• Matthew 5:11

  Happy are you when they insult you and persecute you and say every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.

• Matthew 11:6

  And happy is whoever does not stumble over me.”

• Matthew 13:16

  But happy are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.

• Matthew 16:17

  And Jesus answered and said to him, “Happy are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

• Matthew 24:46

  Happy is that slave whom his master will find doing so when he comes.

• Luke 1:45

  And happy is she who believed that there will be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

• Luke 6:20

  And he, lifting up his eyes to his disciples, was saying, “Happy are the poor, because yours is the kingdom of God.

• Luke 6:21

  Happy are those who are hungry now, because you will be satisfied. Happy are those who weep now, because you will laugh.

• Luke 6:22

  Happy are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.

• Luke 7:23

  And happy is whoever does not stumble over me.”

• Luke 10:23

  And turning to the disciples, he said privately, “Happy are the eyes that see what you see.

• Luke 11:27

  Now it happened, as he was saying these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Happy is the womb that carried you, and the breasts that you nursed at!”

• Luke 11:28

  But he said, “Rather, happy are those who hear the word of God and keep it.”

• Luke 12:37

  Happy are those slaves whom the master will find awake when he comes. Truly I tell you that he will gird himself and have them recline at table and will come and serve them.

• Luke 12:38

  And if in the second watch or if in the third watch he comes and finds them so, happy are those slaves.

• Luke 12:43

  Happy is that slave whom his master will find doing so when he comes.

• Luke 14:14

  and you will be happy, because they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

• Luke 14:15

  And when one of those reclining at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Happy is whoever will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

• Luke 23:29

  for look, days are coming in which they will say, ‘Happy are the barren and the wombs that did not bear, and the breasts that did not nurse!’

• John 13:17

  If you know these things, happy are you if you do them.

• John 20:29

  Jesus says to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Happy are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

• Acts 20:35

  In everything I showed you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more happy to give than to receive.’”

• Acts 26:2

  “Concerning all the things of which I am accused by Jews, King Agrippa, I consider myself happy that before you I am about to make my defense today,

• Romans 4:7

  Happy are those whose iniquities were forgiven and whose sins were covered;

• Romans 4:8

  happy is the man to whom the Lord will never count sin.

• Romans 14:22

  The faith that you have, keep to yourself before God. Happy is the one who does not judge himself in what he approves.

• 1 Corinthians 7:40

  But she is happier if she remains as she is, in my opinion; and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

• 1 Timothy 1:11

  according to the good news of the glory of the happy God, which I was entrusted with.

• 1 Timothy 6:15

  which he will show at the proper time, the happy and only Sovereign, the King of those who reign and Lord of those who rule as lords,

• Titus 2:13

  awaiting the happy hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus the Messiah,

• James 1:12

  Happy is the man who endures trial, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which he promised to those who love him.

• James 1:25

  But the one who looks intently into the perfect law, the law of freedom, and remains in it, becoming not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be happy in his doing.

And 10 more times.