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28 One of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?”

29 Jesus answered, “The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one: 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.’Deuteronomy 6:4-5 This is the first commandment. 31 The second is like this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’Leviticus 19:18 There is no other commandment greater than these.”

32 The scribe said to him, “Truly, teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he, 33 and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

34 When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from God’s Kingdom.”

No one dared ask him any question after that.

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The Greatest Commandment

28 And one of the scribes came up and[a] heard them debating. When he[b] saw that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind and from your whole strength.’[c] 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[d] There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “That is true, Teacher. You have said correctly[e] that he is one and there is no other except him. 33 And to love him from your[f] whole heart and from your[g] whole understanding and from your[h] whole strength, and to love your[i] neighbor as yourself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And Jesus, when he[j] saw that he had answered thoughtfully, said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to put a question to him any longer.

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 12:28 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came up”) has been translated as a finite verb
  2. Mark 12:28 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
  3. Mark 12:30 A quotation from Deut 6:4–5; Josh 22:5
  4. Mark 12:31 A quotation from Lev 19:18
  5. Mark 12:32 Literally “in accordance with truth”
  6. Mark 12:33 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  7. Mark 12:33 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  8. Mark 12:33 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  9. Mark 12:33 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  10. Mark 12:34 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal