The Great Commandment

^28 (A)And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ^(B)‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, ^(C)the Lord is one. ³⁰ 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 (D)The second is this: ^(E)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment ^(F)greater than these.”

³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man ^(A)was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a ^(B)priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise ^(C)a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a ^(D)Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and ^(E)bound up his wounds, pouring on ^(F)oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ And the next day he took out two ^(G)denarii^[a] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”