Mark 12:31

“The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.””
Mark 12:31 · direct translation from the Greek

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Jesus answers which commandment is the first of allLove

With the Greek beneath

The secondδευτέραis this:αὕτη‘You shall loveἈγαπήσειςyour neighborτὸν πλησίον σουasὡςyourself.’σεαυτόνThere isἔστινnoοὐκotherἄλληcommandmentἐντολὴgreaterμείζωνthan these.”τούτων

Quotation · Leviticus 19:18

Go to Leviticus 19:18

Jesus gives as the second commandment the second half of Leviticus 19:18.

Formula: δευτέρα αὕτη “the second is this” (Mark 12:31)

See the original texts

Greek of the New Testament: δευτέρα αὕτη Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν μείζων τούτων ἄλλη ἐντολὴ οὐκ ἔστιν

Hebrew (Masoretic text): לֹא תִקֹּם וְלֹא תִטֹּר אֶת בְּנֵי עַמֶּךָ וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ אֲנִי יְהוָה

Septuagint (Leviticus 19:18 in the Septuagint numbering): καὶ οὐκ ἐκδικᾶταί σου ἡ χείρ, καὶ οὐ μηνιεῖς τοῖς υἱοῖς τοῦ λαοῦ σου, καὶ ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν· ἐγώ εἰμι κύριος.

The Greek of the NT matches the Septuagint word for word in 6 consecutive words: “Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν.”

Septuagint, Swete’s text, First1KGreek transcription (with reading errors), CC BY-SA 4.0

Mark 12:31, word by word

The secondδευτέραdeutera

second

Second.

Where else “deutera” appears

‘You shall loveἈγαπήσειςAgapēseis

love

Love: to seek the good of the other, even of someone who does not deserve it.

Where else “Agapēseis” appears

your neighborπλησίονplēsion

neighbor

The other person, whom you must love as yourself.

Where else “plēsion” appears

yourself.’σεαυτόνseauton

yourself

Yourself.

Where else “seauton” appears

There isἔστινestin

there is

Something exists somewhere, or happens.

Where else “estin” appears

otherἄλληallē

other, another

Other, another.

Where else “allē” appears

commandmentἐντολὴentolē

commandment

What God or Jesus orders to be done, with his authority, to be carried out.

Where else “entolē” appears

greaterμείζωνmeizōn

greater

Of greater importance or rank than the rest.

Where else “meizōn” appears

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

The greatest commandment

Matthew 22:34-40 Luke 10:25-28

Luke 10 may be a different occasion.

See them side by side

Mark 12:28-34

²⁸And one of the scribes came up, having heard them debating, and seeing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is first of all?” ²⁹Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; ³⁰and 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.’ ³¹The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³²And the scribe said to him, “Well said, Teacher; in truth you have said that he is one and there is no other besides him; ³³and to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love the neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴And Jesus, seeing that he had answered wisely, said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared any longer to question him.

Matthew 22:34-40

³⁴But the Pharisees, hearing that he had silenced the Sadducees, gathered together in the same place. ³⁵And one of them, a lawyer, asked a question, testing him: ³⁶“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” ³⁷And he said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰On these two commandments hang the whole law and the prophets.”

Luke 10:25-28

²⁵And look, a certain expert in the law stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶And he said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” ²⁷And he answered and said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸And he said to him, “You answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

Quotation · Leviticus 19:18

Jesus gives as the second commandment the second half of Leviticus 19:18.

See them side by side

Mark 12:31

³¹The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Leviticus 19:18

¹⁸You shall not take vengeance, and you shall not bear a grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am YHWH.

The context

30and 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 · This verse (above)

32And the scribe said to him, “Well said, Teacher; in truth you have said that he is one and there is no other besides him;

Read all of Mark 12

To study Mark 12 in a group

1. What it says
What did Jesus answer about paying tribute to Caesar (vv. 15–17)?
2. What it means
Why did Jesus say the poor widow put in more than all the others (vv. 41–44)?
3. How I live it
Jesus said the first commandment is to love the Lord, and the second to love your neighbor (vv. 29–31). How will you make this concrete today?

How to use it