On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Parallel translations
- WEB The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
- BSB All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
- NKJV On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
- NASB Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”
- NLT The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
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
On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. Love for God and neighbor is the sum of God's revealed will.
Overview
Jesus declares that the entire Old Testament law and prophetic teaching depend on these two commands of love. Every specific requirement is an expression of how to love God and neighbor rightly. This crystallizes Scripture's ethical heart and shows that love, perfectly fulfilled in Christ, is the fulfillment of the law.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Rom 13:9For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
- Matt 7:12Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
- 1 Jn 4:19–21We love him, because he first loved us.
- Jas 2:8If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
- 1 Jn 4:7–11Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
- John 1:17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
- 1 Tim 1:5Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
- Rom 3:19–21Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
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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 22:40 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
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