The Great Commandment

^34 (A)But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced ^(B)the Sadducees, they gathered together.

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.”

³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵ As the bridegroom ^(A)was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.

¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

²⁸ crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who ^(A)is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and ^(B)the law and ^(C)this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and ^(D)has defiled ^(E)this holy place.” ²⁹ For they had previously seen ^(F)Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. ³⁰ Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and ^(G)dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut.

²³ About that time ^(A)there arose no little disturbance concerning ^(B)the Way. ²⁴ For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, ^(C)brought no little business to the craftsmen. ^25 (D)These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. ²⁶ And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, ^(E)saying that ^(F)gods made with hands are not gods. ²⁷ And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the ^(G)great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

²⁸ When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, ^(H)“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

²⁴ Now when ^(A)the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. ²⁵ And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison ^(B)are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” ²⁶ Then ^(C)the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for ^(D)they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

²⁷ And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, ²⁸ saying, ^(E)“We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you ^(F)intend to bring this man's blood upon us.”

⁴⁷ So the chief priests and the Pharisees ^(A)gathered ^(B)the council and said, ^(C)“What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and ^(D)the Romans will come and take away both our ^(E)place and our nation.” ⁴⁹ But one of them, ^(F)Caiaphas, ^(G)who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. ⁵⁰ Nor do you understand that ^(H)it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”