A New Commandment

⁷ Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word that you have heard.

¹⁸ You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.^(A)

Love One Another

¹¹ For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.^(A)

²⁹ Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one;^{(A) 30} 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, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”^{(B) 32} Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’;^{(C) 33} 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’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”^{(D) 34} When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.^(E)

⁵ But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment but one we have had from the beginning: let us love one another.^{(A) 6} And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning—you must walk in it.^(B)