The Scribes: Which Is the First Commandment of All?(A)

28 (B)Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, [a]perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the [b]first commandment of all?”

29 Jesus answered him, “The [c]first of all the commandments is: (C)‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall (D)love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ [d]This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: (E)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than (F)these.”

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 12:28 NU seeing
  2. Mark 12:28 foremost
  3. Mark 12:29 foremost
  4. Mark 12:30 NU omits the rest of v. 30.

The Most Important Commandment

28 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’[a] 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] No other commandment is greater than these.”

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28 Then one of the scribes [an expert in Mosaic Law] came up and listened to them arguing [with one another], and noticing that Jesus answered them well, asked Him, “Which commandment is first and most important of all?”(A) 29 Jesus answered, “The first and most important one is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord; 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.’(B) 31 This is the second: ‘You shall [unselfishly] [a]love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”(C)

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 12:31 The key to understanding this and other statements about love is to know that this love (the Greek word agape) is not so much a matter of emotion as it is of doing things for the benefit of another person, that is, having an unselfish concern for another and a willingness to seek the best for another.

The Greatest Commandment(A)

28 One of the teachers of the law(B) came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[b](C) 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[c](D) There is no commandment greater than these.”

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 12:29 Or The Lord our God is one Lord
  2. Mark 12:30 Deut. 6:4,5
  3. Mark 12:31 Lev. 19:18

28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

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