The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Parallel translations
- WEB The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
- KJV On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
- 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.”
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 the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Matt 7:12Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.
- 1 Jn 4:19–21We love him, because he first loved us.
- Jas 2:8However, if you fulfill the royal law, according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well.
- 1 Jn 4:7–11Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves has been born of God, and knows God.
- John 1:17For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
- 1 Tim 1:5but the goal of this command is love, out of a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith;
- Rom 3:19–21Now we know that whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God.
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 22:40 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
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.