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Mark 12:28-34
New American Standard Bible
Mark 12:28-34
New American Standard Bible
28 (A)One of the scribes came up and heard them arguing, and (B)recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the [a]foremost of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The [b]foremost is, ‘(C)Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; 30 (D)and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘(E)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher; You have truly stated that (F)He is One, and there is no other besides Him; 33 (G)and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, (H)is much more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (I)And then, no one dared any longer to question Him.
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- Mark 12:28 Or first
- Mark 12:29 Or first
Mark 12:28-34
New International Version
Mark 12:28-34
New International Version
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.”
32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.(E) 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”(F)
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”(G) And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.(H)
Footnotes
- Mark 12:29 Or The Lord our God is one Lord
- Mark 12:30 Deut. 6:4,5
- Mark 12:31 Lev. 19:18
Mark 12:28-34
Contemporary English Version
Mark 12:28-34
Contemporary English Version
The Most Important Commandment
(Matthew 22.34-40; Luke 10.25-28)
28 (A) One of the teachers of the Law of Moses came up while Jesus and the Sadducees were arguing. When he heard Jesus give a good answer, he asked him, “What is the most important commandment?”
29 (B) Jesus answered, “The most important one says: ‘People of Israel, you have only one Lord and God. 30 You must love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.’ 31 (C) The second most important commandment says: ‘Love others as much as you love yourself.’ No other commandment is more important than these.”
32 (D) The man replied, “Teacher, you are certainly right to say there is only one God. 33 (E) It is also true that we must love God with all our heart, mind, and strength, and that we must love others as much as we love ourselves. These commandments are more important than all the sacrifices and offerings that we could possibly make.”
34 When Jesus saw that the man had given a sensible answer, he told him, “You are not far from God's kingdom.” After this, no one dared ask Jesus any more questions.
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Mark 12:28-34
The Message
Mark 12:28-34
The Message
The Most Important Commandment
28 One of the religion scholars came up. Hearing the lively exchanges of question and answer and seeing how sharp Jesus was in his answers, he put in his question: “Which is most important of all the commandments?”
29-31 Jesus said, “The first in importance is, ‘Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these.”
32-33 The religion scholar said, “A wonderful answer, Teacher! So clear-cut and accurate—that God is one and there is no other. And loving him with all passion and intelligence and energy, and loving others as well as you love yourself. Why, that’s better than all offerings and sacrifices put together!”
34 When Jesus realized how insightful he was, he said, “You’re almost there, right on the border of God’s kingdom.”
After that, no one else dared ask a question.
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New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson