Font Size
Matthew 22:34-40
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Matthew 22:34-40
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
34 (A)When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them [a scholar of the law][a] tested him by asking, 36 “Teacher,[b] which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 (B)He said to him,[c] “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and the first commandment. 39 (C)The second is like it:[d] You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 [e](D)The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
The Question About David’s Son.[f]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 22:35 [A scholar of the law]: meaning “scribe.” Although this reading is supported by the vast majority of textual witnesses, it is the only time that the Greek word so translated occurs in Matthew. It is relatively frequent in Luke, and there is reason to think that it may have been added here by a copyist since it occurs in the Lucan parallel (Lk 10:25–28). Tested: see note on Mt 19:3.
- 22:36 For the devout Jew all the commandments were to be kept with equal care, but there is evidence of preoccupation in Jewish sources with the question put to Jesus.
- 22:37–38 Cf. Dt 6:5. Matthew omits the first part of Mark’s fuller quotation (Mk 12:29; Dt 6:4–5), probably because he considered its monotheistic emphasis needless for his church. The love of God must engage the total person (heart, soul, mind).
- 22:39 Jesus goes beyond the extent of the question put to him and joins to the greatest and the first commandment a second, that of love of neighbor, Lv 19:18; see note on Mt 19:18–19. This combination of the two commandments may already have been made in Judaism.
- 22:40 The double commandment is the source from which the whole law and the prophets are derived.
- 22:41–46 Having answered the questions of his opponents in the preceding three controversies, Jesus now puts a question to them about the sonship of the Messiah. Their easy response (Mt 22:43a) is countered by his quoting a verse of Ps 110 that raises a problem for their response (43b–45). They are unable to solve it and from that day on their questioning of him is ended.
Matthew 22:34-40
New International Version
Matthew 22:34-40
New International Version
The Greatest Commandment(A)
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,(B) the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law,(C) tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a](D) 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b](E) 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”(F)
Footnotes
- Matthew 22:37 Deut. 6:5
- Matthew 22:39 Lev. 19:18
Mark 12:28-34
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Mark 12:28-34
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
28 One of the scribes,(A) when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” 29 Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! 30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’(B) 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”(C) 32 The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘He is One and there is no other than he.’ 33 And ‘to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”(D) 34 And when Jesus saw that [he] answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.(E)
The Question About David’s Son.[a]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 12:35–37 Jesus questions the claim of the scribes about the Davidic descent of the Messiah, not to deny it (Mt 1:1; Acts 2:20, 34; Rom 1:3; 2 Tm 2:8) but to imply that he is more than this. His superiority derives from his transcendent origin, to which David himself attested when he spoke of the Messiah with the name “Lord” (Ps 110:1). See also note on Mt 22:41–46.
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
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.