King James Bible
"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."
Jesus pronounces divine favor on a specific group, continuing the Beatitudes pattern. The term 'blessed' (makarios) indicates both present spiritual joy and future reward from God. The metaphor uses the most basic human cravings to describe spiritual desire—those who pursue right relationship with God and moral uprightness with desperate intensity. In the ancient world, physical hunger and thirst were life-threatening realities, making this comparison particularly powerful. God promises complete satisfaction to those who earnestly seek righteousness, using passive voice to indicate divine action. The future tense points to both progressive fulfillment in this life and ultimate satisfaction in God's kingdom.