Mark 12:32

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

Mark 12:32 · direct translation from the Greek
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With the Greek beneath

32

Allusion · Isaiah 45:21

Go to Isaiah 45:21

Both texts say that there is no other besides him.

They share words that are rare in the original, without a quotation.

  • ἄλλοςallosG243עוֹדodH5750“other”
  • πλὴνplēnG4133זוּלָתִzulatiH2108“but, except”

Mark 12:32, word by word

the scribeγραμματεύςgrammateus

scribe

A teacher who copied and explained the law of Moses.

Where else “grammateus” appears
saidεἶπενeipen

say

To express something in words to others.

Where else “eipen” appears
“Well saidΚαλῶςKalōs

well

Well, rightly.

Where else “Kalōs” appears
Teacherδιδάσκαλεdidaskale

teacher

Teacher, one who teaches.

Where else “didaskale” appears
truthἀληθείαςalētheias

truth

What God reveals of himself and his plan, received by believing.

Where else “alētheias” appears
he isἐστινestin

be

To be: says who or what something is.

Where else “estin” appears
oneεἷςheis

one

The quantity one, or a single one within a group.

Where else “heis” appears
otherἄλλοςallos

other, another

Other, another.

Where else “allos” appears

Translation note

It recalls Deuteronomy 4:35 and Isaiah 45:21.

Parallel passages

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

The greatest commandment

Matthew 22:34-40Luke 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.”

The context

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

32 · This verse (above)

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.”

Read all of Mark 12

To study Mark 12 in a group

  1. 1. What it says

    What did Jesus answer about paying tribute to Caesar (vv. 15–17)?

  2. 2. What it means

    Why did Jesus say the poor widow put in more than all the others (vv. 41–44)?

  3. 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