MARK 12:29 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, pink:genitive/possessor, magenta:vocative.
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 Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.

UST Jesus replied, “Here is the most important law:
¶ ‘Listen, you people of Israel! The Lord God whom we worship is the only Lord.

BSB Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear, O Israel, [the] Lord our God, [the] Lord is One.

MSB Jesus replied, “This is the most important of all the commandments:[fn] ‘Hear, O Israel, [the] Lord our God, [the] Lord is One.

12:29 CT does not include of all the commandments.

BLB Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'Hear this O Israel: The Lord our God is One Lord,

AICNT Jesus answered, “The first [[of all commandments]][fn] is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one;

12:29, of all commandments: Some manuscripts include.

OEB ‘The most important,’ answered Jesus, ‘is – “Hear, Israel; the Lord our God is the one Lord;

WEBBE Jesus answered, “The greatest is: ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

WMBB Yeshua answered, “The greatest is: ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

NET Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘ Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

LSV And Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commands—Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD is one;

FBV Jesus replied, “The first commandment is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is one.

TCNT Jesus answered [fn]him, “The most important [fn]of all the commandments is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord [fn]our God, the Lord is one.

12:29 him ¦ — CT

12:29 of all the commandments ¦ commandment of all ANT ¦ — CT

12:29 our ¦ your PCK

T4T Jesus answered, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, you people of Israel! You must worship the Lord, our God, our only Lord.

LEB Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

BBE Jesus said in answer, The first is, Give ear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord;

Moff Jesus replied, "The chief one is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord,

Wymth "The chief Commandment," replied Jesus, "is this: `Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord;

ASV Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one:

DRA And Jesus answered him: The first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord thy God is one God.

YLT and Jesus answered him — 'The first of all the commands [is], Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one;

Drby And Jesus answered him, [The] first commandment of all [is], Hear, Israel: the Lord our [fn]God is one Lord;

12.29 Elohim

RV Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one:
(Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, Oh Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one: )

SLT And Jesus answered him, That the first of all the commands, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

Wbstr And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is , Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord.

KJB-1769 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
(And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, Oh Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: )

KJB-1611 And Iesus answered him, The first of al the commandements is, Heare, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord:
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps Iesus aunswered hym, the first of all the commaundementes is: Heare O Israel, The Lorde our God, is one Lorde:
(Yesus/Yeshua answered him, the first of all the commandments is: Hear Oh Israel, The Lord our God, is one Lord:)

Gnva Iesus answered him, The first of all the commandements is, Heare, Israel, The Lord our God is the onely Lord.
(Yesus/Yeshua answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, Israel, The Lord our God is the only Lord. )

Cvdl Iesus answered him: The chefest commaundemet of all commaundementes is this: Heare O Israel, the LORDE oure God is one God,
(Yesus/Yeshua answered him: The chefest commandment of all commandments is this: Hear Oh Israel, the LORD our God is one God,)

TNT Iesus answered him: the fyrste of all the comaundementes is. Heare Israel: The Lorde God is one Lorde.
(Yesus/Yeshua answered him: the first of all the commandments is. Hear Israel: The Lord God is one Lord. )

Wycl And Jhesus answeride to him, that the firste maundement of alle is, Here thou, Israel, thi Lord God is o God;
(And Yhesus answered to him, that the first commandment of all is, Here thou/you, Israel, thy/your Lord God is o God;)

Luth JEsus aber antwortete ihm: Das vornehmste Gebot vor allen Geboten ist das: Höre, Israel, der HErr, unser GOtt, ist ein einiger GOtt!
(Yesus but replied him: The most_distinguished commandment/command before/in_front_of all/everyone commandments/commands is that: Listen, Israel, the/of_the LORD, our God, is a some God!)

ClVg Jesus autem respondit ei: Quia primum omnium mandatum est: Audi Israël, Dominus Deus tuus, Deus unus est:
(Yesus however answered to_him: Because first of_all command(n) it_is: Listen Israel, Master God your(sg), God one it_is: )

UGNT ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ὅτι πρώτη ἐστίν, ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ, Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν Κύριος εἷς ἐστιν,
(apekrithaʸ ho Yaʸsous, hoti prōtaʸ estin, akoue, Israaʸl, Kurios ho Theos haʸmōn Kurios heis estin,)

SBL-GNT ⸂ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς⸃ ὅτι Πρώτη ⸀ἐστίν· Ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ, κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν,
(⸂apekrithaʸ ho Yaʸsous⸃ hoti Prōtaʸ ⸀estin; Akoue, Israaʸl, kurios ho theos haʸmōn kurios heis estin,)

RP-GNT Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ ὅτι Πρώτη πάντων τῶν ἐντολῶν, Ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ· κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν, κύριος εἷς ἐστίν·
(Ho de Yaʸsous apekrithaʸ autōi hoti Prōtaʸ pantōn tōn entolōn, Akoue, Israaʸl; kurios ho theos haʸmōn, kurios heis estin;)

TC-GNT [fn]Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ ὅτι Πρώτη [fn]πάντων τῶν ἐντολῶν, Ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ· Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς [fn]ἡμῶν, Κύριος εἷς ἐστι·
(Ho de Yaʸsous apekrithaʸ autōi hoti Prōtaʸ pantōn tōn entolōn, Akoue, Israaʸl; Kurios ho Theos haʸmōn, Kurios heis esti; )

12:29 ο δε ιησους απεκριθη αυτω ¦ απεκριθη ο ιησους CT

12:29 παντων των εντολων ¦ πασων των εντολων PCK TR ¦ παντων εντολη ANT ¦ εστιν CT

12:29 ημων ¦ υμων PCK

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.

12:29a–12:30

This is the most important: ‘Hear…. Love…: This clause introduces the command that follows. The most important refers to the command to love the Lord in 12:30. Introduce it in a natural way in your language.

Here is another way to translate this:

The most important is, ‘Listen…you must love…. (GW)

Your translation should not imply thatmost important refers only to the command to Hear in 12:29b. The word Hear emphasizes the statement that follows. In some languages a command to “hear” may cause readers to misunderstand what Jesus said in this context. If that is true in your language, you may need to leave it implicit. For example, the CEV says:

The most important one says: “People of Israel, you have only one Lord and God. ³⁰You must love him….”

12:29a

Jesus replied, “This is the most important:

Jesus answered, “The most important command that God gave in the Scriptures is this:
Jesus said, “Here is the command/law that is more important than the others:

the most important: The phrase the most important is literally “the first,” as in the RSV. It refers to the most important command. See how you translated the phrase “the most important” in 12:28.

12:29b

‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.

‘Listen, people of Israel, the Lord our^(incl) God is the only Lord.
‘You^(plur) people from Israel, listen: the Lord God whom we^(incl) worship is the only Lord.

In this verse Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6:4.This passage (Deuteronomy 6:4) was called by the Jews the “Shema,” which is based on the Hebrew word meaning “hear.” The religious Jews repeated it twice every day as the basis of their faith (UBS, page 382). If you use footnotes, you may want to cross-reference that verse.

Hear O Israel: The words Hear O Israel introduce something very important that Moses was about to tell the people of Israel about God.

Here are some other ways to introduce this:

Listen, Israel! (GNT)

Israel people, listen to me

Introduce Moses’ words in a way that emphasizes that what he was about to say was very important.

the Lord our God, the Lord is One: The words the Lord our God, the Lord is one indicate that the Lord our God is unique, there is no other God like him.Jesus quoted these words from the LXX, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. In the Hebrew text of this verse, both occurrences of the word that the BSB translates here as Lord refer to the personal name of God. In English, people sometimes write that name as Yahweh or Jehovah. It also implies that he is the only God that Israel worships.

Here are some other ways to translate the Lord our God, the Lord is one:

The Lord our God is the only Lord. (GNT)

The Lord is our God, and he is the only one like himself.

God the Lord is the only God. He is the only one whom we worship.

In some languages it is not possible to use the title “Lord” by itself. If that is true in your language, you may be able to say “our Lord.” For example:

The Lord God who is our Lord is the only/unique one.

See Lord, Context 2, in the Glossary.

our God: In some languages it may be necessary to make the meaning of our God more explicit. For example:

the God whom we worship

the God who cares for us

This “we” includes all the people of Israel.

God: The Greek word that the BSB translates as God refers here to the eternal spirit who created everything. He is more powerful than any other spirit, and he is perfectly good and wise. He deserves to be worshiped. Here are some ways to translate God:

Use a name or title for God that people in your culture already use.
Use a descriptive term that fits the truth about God that is revealed in the Bible. For example:
Creator
Great Spirit
Ruler of the universe
Use a borrowed word from the national or trade language Bible.

Choose a term that is acceptable to the believers and churches in your area. For more detailed information, see God in the Glossary.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

πρώτη

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι Πρώτη ἐστίν ἄκουε Ἰσραήλ Κύριος ὁ Θεός ἡμῶν Κύριος Εἱς ἐστίν)

Here, the Jesus is using the word first to refer to what is most important. See how you translated the word first in [12:28](../12/28.md). Alternate translation: [The most significant] or [The greatest]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj

πρώτη

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι Πρώτη ἐστίν ἄκουε Ἰσραήλ Κύριος ὁ Θεός ἡμῶν Κύριος Εἱς ἐστίν)

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

Note 3 topic: translate-ordinal

πρώτη

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι Πρώτη ἐστίν ἄκουε Ἰσραήλ Κύριος ὁ Θεός ἡμῶν Κύριος Εἱς ἐστίν)

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

Note 4 topic: writing-quotations

ἐστίν, ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ, Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν Κύριος εἷς ἐστιν & καὶ ἀγαπήσεις Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου, ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος σου

is ˓be˒_hearing Israel ˓the˒_Lord the is (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι Πρώτη ἐστίν ἄκουε Ἰσραήλ Κύριος ὁ Θεός ἡμῶν Κύριος Εἱς ἐστίν)

Here Jesus quotes from the Old Testament scriptures, specifically from [Deuteronomy 6:4–5](../deu/06/04.md). If it would be helpful to your readers, you could format these words in a different way and include this information in a footnote. Alternate translation: [is this commandment from the book of Deuteronomy: ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. And you will love the Lord your God from your whole heart, and from your whole soul, and from your whole mind, and from your whole strength.]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes

If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: [is that Israel should hear that the Lord their God is one Lord and that they should love the Lord their God from their whole heart, and from their whole soul, and from their whole mind, and from their whole strength.]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / exclamations

ἄκουε

˓be˒_hearing

Here, the word Hear draws the attention of the audience and asks them to listen carefully. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express Hear with a word or phrase that asks the audience to listen, or you could draw the audience’s attention in another way. Alternate translation: [Pay attention]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

Ἰσραήλ

Israel

Parallel MARK 12:29

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

12:29a–12:30

12:29a

12:29b