Matthew 22:34-40
New English Translation
The Greatest Commandment
34 Now when the Pharisees[a] heard that he had silenced the Sadducees,[b] they assembled together.[c] 35 And one of them, an expert in religious law,[d] asked him a question to test[e] him: 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”[f] 37 Jesus[g] said to him, “‘Love[h] the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’[i] 38 This is the first and greatest[j] commandment. 39 The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[k] 40 All the law and the prophets depend[l] on these two commandments.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 22:34 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
- Matthew 22:34 sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.
- Matthew 22:34 tn Grk “for the same.” That is, for the same purpose that the Sadducees had of testing Jesus.
- Matthew 22:35 tn Traditionally, “a lawyer.” This was an expert in the interpretation of the Mosaic law.
- Matthew 22:35 tn Grk “testing.” The participle, however, is telic in force.
- Matthew 22:36 tn Or possibly “What sort of commandment in the law is great?”
- Matthew 22:37 tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Matthew 22:37 tn Grk “You will love.” The future indicative is used here with imperatival force (see ExSyn 452 and 569).
- Matthew 22:37 sn A quotation from Deut 6:5. The threefold reference to different parts of the person says, in effect, that one should love God with all one’s being.
- Matthew 22:38 tn Grk “the great and first.”
- Matthew 22:39 sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.
- Matthew 22:40 tn Grk “hang.” The verb κρεμάννυμι (kremannumi) is used here with a figurative meaning (cf. BDAG 566 s.v. 2.b).
Matthew 22:34-40
New Living Translation
The Most Important Commandment
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
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