Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Parallel translations
- WEB Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
- BSB Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
- NKJV Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
- NASB And 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.’
- NLT Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
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 answers that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Wholehearted love for God is humanity's first duty.
Overview
Quoting the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:5), Jesus identifies total, undivided love for God as the supreme commandment. This love engages the whole person, the affections, will, and understanding. It expresses the very purpose for which humans were made and the heart of true obedience that only grace can produce.
Cross-references & the web
Quotation
- Deut 6:5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Cross-references · 9
- Mark 12:29–30And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
- Luke 10:27And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
- Deut 6:5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
- Deut 10:12And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
- Mark 12:33And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
- Deut 30:6And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
- 1 Jn 5:2–5By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
- Heb 10:16–17This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
- Rom 8:7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 22:37 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.