A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
Parallel Translations
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A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
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And ther is another lyke vnto this. Love thyne neghbour as thy selfe.
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And the second is like vnto this, Thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe.
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Contradictions (3)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Matthew 22:39 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Mark 12:31 The second is like this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
- Luke 10:27-37 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus answered, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the host, and said to him, ‘Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.’ Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?” He said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
- Leviticus 19:18 “ ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.
- Romans 13:9-10 For 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.” Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.
- Galatians 5:14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Matthew 19:19 ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ And, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
- Romans 15:2 Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, to be building him up.
- James 2:8 However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well.
- Galatians 6:10 So then, as we have opportunity, let’s do what is good toward all men, and especially toward those who are of the household of the faith.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Another man.
Another man.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou…
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Ver. 39. And the second is like unto it] For it hath, 1. The same author, God "spake all these words." 2. The same tic. 3. The same sanction and punishment of the violation. 4. It requires the same kind of love and service; for the love of our neighbour is the service of God.
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Love thy neighbour as thyself] Now, thou lovest thyself truly, really, fervently, freely, constantly, hiding thine own defects and deformities as much as may be. Thou wouldst have others rejoice with thee and condole with thee as occasion serves. Go thou now and do likewise to others. Howbeit our Saviour strains us up a peg higher, Joh 13:34. His new commandment of the gospel is, that we love one another not only as we love ourselves, but as he loved us. This form hath something in it that is more express (in which respect partly it is called a new commandment), and for the incomparable sufficiency of the precedent is matchless, and more full of incitation to fire affection.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Saying, what think ye of Christ,.... Or the Messiah;…
Saying, what think ye of Christ,.... Or the Messiah; he does not ask them whether there was, or would be such a person in the world. He knew, that he was so plainly spoken of in the writings of the Old Testament, which they had in their hands, that they could not be ignorant, that such a person was prophesied of: he knew that they believed that he would come, and that they were in continual expectation of his coming; wherefore he asks them what they thought of him, what were their sentiments and opinions concerning him; as about his person, whether they thought him to be divine, or human, a mere man, or God, as well as man; what they thought of his work and office he came to perform, whether it was a spiritual, or temporal salvation, they expected he should be the author of; and so of his kingdom, whether it would be of this world or not; and particularly, what thoughts they had of his sonship, and who was his father,
whose son is he? and which the Pharisees understanding only as respecting his lineage and descent as man, as, of what family he was? who were his ancestors and progenitors?
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they say unto him, the son of David. This they said directly, without any hesitation, it being a generally received notion of their's, and was very right, that the Messiah should be of the seed and family of David: and hence he is frequently, in their writings, called by no other name, than the son of David; See Gill on Mat 1:1. If this question was put to some persons, it would appear, that they have no thoughts of Christ at all. The atheist has none; as God is not in all his thoughts, nor in any of them, for all his thoughts are, that there is no God; so neither is Christ the Son of God. The deist thinks thing of him, for he does not believe the revelation concerning him. The epicure, or voluptuous man, he thinks only of his carnal lusts and pleasures: and the worldling, or covetous man, thinks nothing but of his worldly substance, and of the much good things he has laid up for many years: to say nothing of the Heathens, who have never heard of him; others, and such as bear the Christian name, have very wrong thoughts of Christ, mean, and undervaluing. The Arrian thinks he is a created God, of a like, but not or the same nature with the Father. The Socinian thinks he is a God by office, and did not exist until he was born of the Virgin Mary; and has no notion of his sacrifice, and satisfaction for the sins of men. The Arminian thinks meanly of his righteousness, and denies the imputation of it to them that believe. And indeed, all such think wrongly of Christ, who divide their salvation between their works and him, and make them their Christ, or their frames their Christ, or their graces, and particularly their believing in him; that is, that ascribe that to them, which properly belongs to him. And as for those who do not bear the name Christians, it is no wonder that they entertain wrong and low thoughts of Christ. The Jews thought him to be a mere man, and the carpenter's son. The Pharisees thought that he was an Antinomian, a libertine, a loose, and licentious person, that had no regard to the law, and good works: hence those words of his, "think not that I am come to destroy the law", Mat 5:17. Yea, they thought him to be a Samaritan, and to have a devil, and to cast out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of devils. The Mahometans, though they allow him to be a prophet, yet think that he is inferior to Mahomet their prophet. There are others that think well of Christ, admire the loveliness of his person, and the fulness of his grace, but are afraid Christ does not think well of them: they think well of the suitableness there is in Christ, of his righteousness to justify, of his blood to cleanse and pardon, and of the fulness of his grace to supply all wants, but think these are not for them: they often revolve in their minds his ability to save, and firmly believe it, but question his willingness to save them: they often think of Christ, what he is to others, but cannot think of him for themselves; only believers in Christ have a good thought of him, to their own joy and comfort: faith is a good thought of Christ; to them that believe, he is precious; and such, through believing in him, are filled with joy unspeakable, and full of glory; such think often, and well, of the dignity of Christ's person, of the excellency and usefulness of his offices, of the virtue of his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, and of the sufficiency of his grace for them: they think well of what he did for them in eternity, as their surety, in the council and covenant of peace; and of what he has done for them in time, by suffering and dying for them in their room and stead; and of what he is now doing for them in heaven, as their advocate and intercessor.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Lev. xix, 18.
Lev. xix, 18.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 39. Thou shalt love thy neighbour] The love…
Verse 39. Thou shalt love thy neighbour] The love of our neighbour springs from the love of God as its source; is found in the love of God as its principle, pattern, and end; and the love of God is found in the love of our neighbour, as its effect, representation, and infallible mark. This love of our neighbour is a love of equity, charity, succour, and benevolence. We owe to our neighbour what we have a right to expect from him - "Do unto all men as ye would they should do unto you," is a positive command of our blessed Saviour. By this rule, therefore, we should speak, think, and write, concerning every soul of man: - put the best construction upon all the words and actions of our neighbour that they can possibly bear. By this rule we are taught to bear with, love, and forgive him; to rejoice in his felicity, mourn in his adversity, desire and delight in his prosperity, and promote it to the utmost of our power: instruct his ignorance, help him in his weakness, and risk even our life for his sake, and for the public good. In a word, we must do every thing in our power, through all the possible varieties of circumstances, for our neighbours, which we would wish them to do for us, were our situations reversed.
This is the religion of Jesus! How happy would Society be, were these two plain, rational precepts properly observed! Love ME, and love thy FELLOWS! Be unutterably happy in me, and be in perfect peace, unanimity, and love, among yourselves. Great fountain and dispenser of love! fill thy creation with this sacred principle, for his sake who died for the salvation of mankind!
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On the nature of self-love, see Mt 19:19.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 39. Second is like unto it — Like in…
39. Second is like unto it — Like in being founded in love; like in being in fact included in the first. For, if we love God completely, we shall perform all our duties to his creatures. As thyself — So that we may love ourselves. The Scriptures teach self-denial, but they do not teach self-annihilation. They forbid selfishness, but they do not forbid self-love. The love of our neighbor may not be of the same kind with the love of ourself. It may have more of a moral and less of an instinctive nature. Thus the love we have for our neighbour is different from the love we have for our nearest connections. The parental and conjugal relations require of us peculiar duties and peculiar feelings.
If I would love my neighbour as myself, I must not require him to do for me or my family the duties I do to myself or my family; since I do not desire to do such duties for him or his family. If I love my neighbour as myself, I shall be willing to do all my duties in my own proper place, and allow him to do the duties and reap the enjoyments of his proper place.
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This law is therefore the same as the golden rule, the former being stated as the law of the inner man, the latter his rule of external action.
The observance of this law would put an end to all injustice, violence, oppression, and war.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (39) Thou shalt love thy neighbour.—The words were found,…
(39) Thou shalt love thy neighbour.—The words were found, strangely enough, in the book which is, for the most part, pre-eminently ceremonial (Lev_19:18), and it is to the credit of the Pharisees, as ethical teachers, that they, too, had drawn the law, as our Lord now drew it, from its comparative obscurity, and gave it a place of dignity second only to that of the first and great commandment.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The second. The scribe had not asked any question…
The second. The scribe had not asked any question about a second commandment: but Christ is not satisfied with propounding an abstract proposition; he shows how this great precept is to be made practical, how one command involves and leads to the other. Like unto it; omoia auth : in nature and extent, of universal obligation, pure and unselfish. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. From Lev_19:18. The verb, both here and ver. 37, is agaphseiv , which implies, not mere animal or worldly affection (filew), but love from the highest moral considerations, without self-interest, holy. The Latins indicated this difference by amo and diligo. Our "neighbour" is every one with whom we are concerned, i.e. virtually all men. He is to be loved because he is God"s image and likeness, heir of the same hope as we ourselves, and presented to us as the object on and by which we are to show the reality of our love to God. "This commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also". (1Jn_4:21) And for the measure of our love to man, we have Christ"s word in another place, (Mat_7:12) "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 39. The second is like. The first command sums…
39. The second is like. The first command sums up what man owes to God; the second, what he owes to his fellow-man. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Lev. 19:18. One who loves God supremely, will not live in disobedience; one who loves his neighbor as himself, will seek the welfare of those around him.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Jesus quotes a verse from Leviticus as the second greatest commandment.
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a second commandment is like it
Possible meanings are 1) "there is another commandment that is next in importance" or 2) "there is a second commandment that is just as important." Either way, Jesus means these two commandments are more important than all other commandments. (See: Ordinal Numbers)
like it
This means like the commandment in Matthew 22:37.
your neighbor
Here "neighbor" means more than just those who live nearby. Jesus means a person must love all people.
On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets
Here the phrase "the whole law and the prophets" refers to all of scripture. AT: "Everything that Moses and the prophets wrote in the scriptures is based on these two commandments" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
command
love
neighbor
law
prophet
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 22:39 Love your neighbor as yourself: Lev 19:18; see…
22:39 Love your neighbor as yourself: Lev 19:18; see also Rom 13:9; Gal 5:6, 14; Jas 2:8.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.