MARK 12:28 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT And one of the scribes, having come up, having heard them discussing this together, having seen that he answered them well, questioned him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”

UST Then a man who taught the Jewish law approached Jesus. He heard Jesus and the Sadducees debating. He noticed that Jesus had given the Sadducees a good answer. So, he asked Jesus, “Which of the laws that God gave us is the most important?”

BSB Now one of the scribes had come up and heard their debate. Noticing how well [Jesus] had answered them, he asked Him, “Which commandment is [the] most important of all?”

BLB And one of the scribes having come up, having heard them reasoning together, having seen that He answered them well, questioned Him, "Which commandment is the first of all?"

AICNT And one of the scribes came up, having heard them disputing, and seeing that he had answered them well, asked him, “What is the first commandment of all?”

OEB Then came up one of the teachers of the Law who had heard their discussions. Knowing that Jesus had answered them wisely, he asked him this question, ‘Which commandment is the most important of all?’

WEBBE One of the scribes came and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Now one of the experts in the law came and heard them debating. When he saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

LSV And one of the scribes having come near, having heard them disputing, knowing that He answered them well, questioned Him, “Which is the first command of all?”

FBV One of the religious teachers came and heard them arguing. He recognized that Jesus had given them a good answer. So he asked him, “Which is the most important commandment of all?”

TCNT Now one of the scribes came up and heard them debating, and when he [fn]realized that Jesus had answered them well, he asked him, “Which is the most important commandment of all?”

12:28 realized ¦ saw ANT ECM^† NA SBL

T4T A man who taught the Jewish laws heard their discussion. He knew that Jesus answered the question well. So he stepped forward and asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the most important?”

LEB ¶ And one of the scribes came up and[fn] heard them debating. When he[fn] saw that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

12:28 *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came up”) has been translated as a finite verb

12:28 *Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal

BBE And one of the scribes came, and hearing their argument together, and seeing that he had given them a good answer, put the question to him, Which law is the first of all?

Moff Then a scribe came up, who had listened to the discussion. Knowing Jesus had given them an apt answer, he put this question to him, "What is the chief of all the commands?"

Wymth Then one of the Scribes, who had heard them disputing and well knew that Jesus had given them an answer to the point, and a forcible one, came forward and asked Him, "Which is the chief of all the Commandments?"

ASV And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, What commandment is the first of all?

DRA And there came one of the scribes that had heard them reasoning together, and seeing that he had answered them well, asked him which was the first commandment of all.

YLT And one of the scribes having come near, having heard them disputing, knowing that he answered them well, questioned him, 'Which is the first command of all?'

Drby And one of the scribes who had come up, and had heard them reasoning together, perceiving that he had answered them well, demanded of him, Which is [the] first commandment of all?

RV And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, What commandment is the first of all?

SLT And one of the scribes having come, having heard them seeking out together, knowing that he answered them well, asked him, Which is the first command of all?

Wbstr And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

KJB-1769 ¶ And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

KJB-1611 ¶ And one of the Scribes came, and hauing heard them reasoning together, and perceiuing that he had answered them well, asked him which is the first commandement of all.
(¶ And one of the Scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiuing that he had answered them well, asked him which is the first commandment of all.)

Bshps And when there came one of the scribes, & had heard them disputyng together, and perceaued that he had aunswered them well, he asked him: which is the first of all the comaundementes.
(And when there came one of the scribes, and had heard them disputing together, and perceived that he had answered them well, he asked him: which is the first of all the commandments.)

Gnva Then came one of the Scribes that had heard them disputing together, and perceiuing that he had answered them well, he asked him, Which is the first commandement of all?
(Then came one of the Scribes that had heard them disputing together, and perceiuing that he had answered them well, he asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? )

Cvdl And there came vnto him one of the scrybes, that had herkened vnto the how they disputed together, and sawe that he had answered them well, and axed him: Which is the chefest comaundement of all?
(And there came unto him one of the scribes, that had hearkened unto the how they disputed together, and saw that he had answered them well, and asked him: Which is the chefest commandment of all?)

TNT And ther came one of the scribes that had hearde them disputynge to gedder and perceaved that he had answered them well and axed him: Which is the fyrste of all the commaundemetes?
(And there came one of the scribes that had heard them disputinge together and perceived that he had answered them well and asked him: Which is the first of all the commandments? )

Wycl And oon of the scribis, that hadde herde hem dispuytynge togidir, cam nyy, and saiy that Jhesus had wel answeride hem, and axide hym, which was the firste maundement of alle.
(And one of the scribes, that had herd/heard hem dispuyting together, came nigh/near, and say that Yhesus had well answered hem, and asked him, which was the first commandment of alle.)

Luth Und es trat zu ihm der Schriftgelehrten einer, der ihnen zugehöret hatte, wie sie sich miteinander befragten, und sah, daß er ihnen fein geantwortet hatte, und fragte ihn: Welches ist das vornehmste Gebot vor allen?
(And it stepped to/for him the/of_the scribes one/a, the/of_the to_them belongs had, as/like they/she/them itself/yourself/themselves together interviewed, and saw, that he to_them fine geantwortet had, and asked him/it: Whichs is the most_distinguished commandment/command before/in_front_of all/everyone?)

ClVg Et accessit unus de scribis, qui audierat illos conquirentes, et videns quoniam bene illis responderit, interrogavit eum quod esset primum omnium mandatum.[fn]
(And came one from/about you_write, who/which had_heard those those_who_are_searching, and seeing since/because well to_them answered, asked him that was first of_all command(n). )

12.28 Interrogavit eum. HIER. Quid sibi vult hæc quæstio, cum hoc sciant omnes periti in lege? Sed diverse in Exodo et Levitico et Deuteronomio ordinantur mandata. De his enim duobus uberibus super pectora sponsæ levatis alitur nostra infantia. Primum omnium, etc. Maximum quod ante omnia debemus in corde, quasi unicum pietatis fundamentum locare, hoc est, scilicet cognitio atque confessio divinæ unitatis cum exsecutione divinæ operationis, quæ in dilectione Dei et proximi perficitur: hæc est fides quæ per dilectionem operatur.

12.28 Interrogavit him. HIER. What to_himself wants these_things questio, when/with this let_them_know everyone perishesi in/into/on lawfully? But diverse in/into/on Exodo and Levitico and Deuteronomio ordinantur commands. From/About his because for_two uberibus over pectora brides raise/lifttis alitur our childhood. Primum of_all, etc. Maximum that before everything we_must in/into/on heart, as_if unicum of_piety foundation locare, this it_is, namely knowledge and_yet confession divine unitatis when/with exsecutione divine operation, which in/into/on with_love of_God and neighbours is_completed: these_things it_is faith which through love works.

UGNT καὶ προσελθὼν εἷς τῶν γραμματέων, ἀκούσας αὐτῶν συνζητούντων, ἰδὼν ὅτι καλῶς ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς, ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτόν, ποία ἐστὶν ἐντολὴ πρώτη πάντων?
(kai proselthōn heis tōn grammateōn, akousas autōn sunzaʸtountōn, idōn hoti kalōs apekrithaʸ autois, epaʸrōtaʸsen auton, poia estin entolaʸ prōtaʸ pantōn?)

SBL-GNT Καὶ προσελθὼν εἷς τῶν γραμματέων ἀκούσας αὐτῶν συζητούντων, ⸀ἰδὼν ὅτι καλῶς ⸂ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς⸃, ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτόν· Ποία ἐστὶν ⸂ἐντολὴ πρώτη πάντων⸃;
(Kai proselthōn heis tōn grammateōn akousas autōn suzaʸtountōn, ⸀idōn hoti kalōs ⸂apekrithaʸ autois⸃, epaʸrōtaʸsen auton; Poia estin ⸂entolaʸ prōtaʸ pantōn⸃;)

RP-GNT Καὶ προσελθὼν εἷς τῶν γραμματέων, ἀκούσας αὐτῶν συζητούντων, εἰδὼς ὅτι καλῶς αὐτοῖς ἀπεκρίθη, ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτόν, Ποία ἐστὶν πρώτη πάντων ἐντολή;
(Kai proselthōn heis tōn grammateōn, akousas autōn suzaʸtountōn, eidōs hoti kalōs autois apekrithaʸ, epaʸrōtaʸsen auton, Poia estin prōtaʸ pantōn entolaʸ;)

TC-GNT Καὶ προσελθὼν εἷς τῶν γραμματέων, ἀκούσας αὐτῶν [fn]συζητούντων, [fn]εἰδὼς ὅτι καλῶς [fn]αὐτοῖς ἀπεκρίθη, ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτόν, Ποία ἐστὶ [fn]πρώτη πάντων ἐντολή;
(Kai proselthōn heis tōn grammateōn, akousas autōn suzaʸtountōn, eidōs hoti kalōs autois apekrithaʸ, epaʸrōtaʸsen auton, Poia esti prōtaʸ pantōn entolaʸ; )

12:28 συζητουντων ¦ συνζητουντων TH WH

12:28 ειδως ¦ ιδων ANT ECM^† NA SBL

12:28 αυτοις απεκριθη ¦ απεκριθη αυτοις CT

12:28 πρωτη παντων εντολη ¦ πρωτη πασων εντολη PCK TR ¦ εντολη πρωτη παντων CT

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 12:28–34: Jesus taught people which command is the most important

A scribe asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment in the law. Jesus said that there are two great commands: love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.

The scribe in this section may have been honestly seeking the truth. Or he may have been trying to discredit Jesus by asking him a difficult question.Mark 12:34 may imply that the man truly wanted to know the answer. In the parallel passage in Matthew 22:34–40, a scribe asked this same question to test Jesus. Nothing in this section in Mark suggests that the scribe was testing Jesus. It would be good to translate this section so that either interpretation is possible.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The Most Important Commandment (CEV, NLT)

God’s greatest command is to love him and our neighbors

There is a parallel passage for this section in Matthew 22:34–40. Mark 12:30–31 is also parallel to Luke 10:27.

12:28a

Now one of the scribes had come up and heard their debate.

¶ One of the teachers of the law was there listening to their debate/discussion.
¶ One of the experts in the law had come there and heard what Jesus and the Sadducees were discussing with each other.

Now one of the scribes had come up and heard: The scribe had approached or arrived at the place where Jesus was. He had heard the discussion between Jesus and the Sadducees.

In some languages it may be necessary to indicate that the scribe had arrived before the discussion took place. This may be done in several ways. For example:

One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. (NLT)

One of the teachers of the Law of Moses came up while Jesus and the Sadducees were arguing. (CEV)

scribes: The Greek word that the BSB translates as scribes refers to men who studied, interpreted, and taught the law of Moses. These men are called scribes because their original work was to copy the laws of Moses by hand. In New Testament times, this was no longer their main task. This word is sometimes translated as “teachers of the law,” as in the NIV.

Here are some other ways to translate this term:

teachers of the Law of Moses. (CEV)

teachers of religious law. (NLT)

experts on the law.

See how you translated this in 11:27c. Also see teacher of the law in the Glossary.

their: The Greek word that the BSB translates as their refers to the Sadducees and Jesus. In 12:18–27 they had been talking about whether or not God raised dead people to life.

debate: The Greek word that the BSB translates as debate refers to an “argument” or “disagreement” about something.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

argument (GW)

disagreement

12:28b

Noticing how well Jesus had answered them,

When he realized that Jesus had answered their question well,
When he noticed that Jesus had wisely answered their question,
He heard Jesus reply well/wisely to the Sadducees, so

Noticing how well Jesus had answered them: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Noticing is literally “seeing.” Here it means “realizing.” The scribe realized that Jesus had wisely answered the Sadducees’ question. The NLT says:

He realized that Jesus had answered well.

General Comment on 12:28a–b

In some languages it may be necessary to reorder some of the information in 12:28a–b so that the order of events is clear. In the examples below, the action of coming closer to Jesus occurs after 12:28b:

^28aA teacher of the law heard their arguing. ^28bHe realized that Jesus’ answer was good/correct, ^28aso he approached…

^28aA teacher of the law was standing there listening to their discussion. ^28bWhen he observed that Jesus’ answer to them was good, ^28ahe went closer to Jesus…

12:28c

he asked Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

the teacher of the law asked Jesus, “Which command of God is the most important one?”
he asked him/Jesus, “Which of the commands that God gave to Moses is more important than all the others?”
he asked Jesus to tell him the commandment that was most important.

he asked Him: This phrase expresses a result of 12:28b. Some English versions use a connector like “so” here to indicate the connection. Others do not use a connector. Use a natural way to show the connection in your language.

he…Him: The pronoun he refers to the scribe. The pronoun Him refers to Jesus.

asked: The text does not indicate here whether the scribe asked his question in order to trick Jesus. Your translation also should not indicate this.

Which commandment is the most important of all: This question implies that Jesus should consider all the commands that God had given his people. Then Jesus should say which command was the most important. Jewish religious leaders often discussed which of God’s commands was the most important.They would say “Which is heavier (more important)?” or “Which is lighter (less important)?” (Keener, page 169). They did not imply that some commands were not important. All were important, but some were more important than others.

Here are some other ways to translate this question:

Which commandment is the most important of all? (GNT)

What is the most important commandment? (CEV)

In some languages it may be helpful to include the implied information that the commandments were from God. For example:

God gave us many commandments. Which one is the most important?

Which commandment: The phrase Which commandment asks about all the commands that God gave to his people. The scribe may have meant any command in the Old Testament. However, he probably referred primarily to the Law of Moses, the first five books of the Old Testament. The word “command” has the same meaning in English as commandment. It has the same meaning as “law.” In some languages there may not be separate words for “law” and “commandment.” In such languages, this phrase may be translated as:

Which law

commandment: The word commandment here refers to what God told the Jewish people to do and also to what he told them not to do. In some languages it may be necessary to use a more explicit expression for this idea. For example:

God told us what we should do and what we should not do.

is the most important of all: The Greek word that the BSB translates as important is literally “first.” In this context it means “first in importance” or “more important than all the rest.” In some languages it may be difficult to express this comparison. If that is true in your language, you may be able to say:

is important surpassing all the others?

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-newevent

καὶ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί προσελθών εἱς τῶν γραμματέων ἀκούσας αὐτῶν συζητούντων ἰδών ὅτι καλῶς ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτόν Ποία ἐστίν ἐντολή πρώτη πάντων)

Here, the word And introduces the next major event in the story. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces the next event, or you could leave And untranslated. Alternate translation: [After that,]

Note 2 topic: writing-participants

προσελθὼν εἷς τῶν γραμματέων, ἀκούσας αὐτῶν συνζητούντων, ἰδὼν ὅτι καλῶς ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς, ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτόν

Here Mark introduces one of the scribes as a new character in the story. Use a natural form in your language for introducing a new character. Alternate translation: [there a scribe there. When he came up, he heard them discussing this together. He saw that Jesus answered them well, and he questioned him]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / go

προσελθὼν

In a context such as this, your language might say “gone” instead of come. Alternate translation: [having gone up]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

αὐτῶν συνζητούντων

˱of˲_them (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί προσελθών εἱς τῶν γραμματέων ἀκούσας αὐτῶν συζητούντων ἰδών ὅτι καλῶς ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτόν Ποία ἐστίν ἐντολή πρώτη πάντων)

Here Mark implies that the scribe heard Jesus and the Sadducees discussing whether people rise from the dead and what happens to them then. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [them discussing the resurrection of the dead together]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

ἰδὼν

Here, Mark is using the word seen to mean “observed” or “knew.” He is describing something a person would perceive with their mind by association with their eyes. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. Alternate translation: [having understood] or [having observed]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ποία ἐστὶν ἐντολὴ πρώτη πάντων

Here, the scribe is using the word first to refer to what is most important. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable figure of speech or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [Which is the most significant commandment of all] or [Which commandment is the greatest of all]

Note 7 topic: translate-ordinal

ἐντολὴ πρώτη πάντων

If your language does not use ordinal numbers, you could use a cardinal number here or an equivalent expression. Alternate translation: [commandment number one]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj

πάντων

˱of˲_all

The scribe is using the adjective all as a noun to mean all the commandments. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: [of all the commandments]

Parallel MARK 12:28

Section 12:28–34: Jesus taught people which command is the most important

12:28a

12:28b

General Comment on 12:28a–b

12:28c