The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
Parallel translations
- WEB The second is like this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
- KJV And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
- NKJV And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
- NASB The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
- NLT The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus adds the second commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself, saying none is greater than these.
Overview
Citing Leviticus 19:18, Jesus joins love for neighbor to love for God as the summary of the whole Law. The two commandments together capture what God requires of His people. In Christ, who loved God perfectly and laid down His life for others, this twofold love is both fulfilled and made possible for us.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Rom 13:8–9Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
- Matt 22:39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
- Lev 19:18Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
- Luke 10:27He answered, “‘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 ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
- 1 Cor 13:4–8Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
- Matt 7:12In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.
- Gal 5:14The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- 1 Jn 4:21And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must love his brother as well.
- 1 Jn 4:7–8Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
- Matt 19:18–19“Which ones?” the man asked. Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness,
- Jas 2:8–13If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
- Luke 10:36–37Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
- 1 Jn 3:17–19If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him?
- Lev 19:13You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 12:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.