God & Savior

Matthew 22:37-38

37Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment.
Matthew 22:37-38
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Study notes

Verse 37

Jesus says the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.

Explanation

A Pharisee who was an expert in the law asked Jesus which commandment is the greatest (22:35-36). Jesus answers by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5. Love for God is to involve the whole person.

Original language
  • ἀγαπήσεις (agapēseis): to love
    Greek · Verb, future, active, indicative, 2nd person singular · Strong's G0025 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    You will love (agapaō).

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Matthew 22:37, word 5

  • κύριον (kurion): lord
    Greek · Noun, accusative, singular, masculine · Strong's G2962G · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Lord.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Matthew 22:37, word 6

  • καρδίᾳ (kardia): heart
    Greek · Noun, dative, singular, feminine · Strong's G2588 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Heart.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Matthew 22:37, word 13

  • ψυχῇ (psuchēa): soul
    Greek · Noun, dative, singular, feminine · Strong's G5590G · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Soul, life.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Matthew 22:37, word 19

  • διανοίᾳ (dianoia): mind
    Greek · Noun, dative, singular, feminine · Strong's G1271 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Mind, understanding.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Matthew 22:37, word 25

Cross-references
  • Deuteronomy 6:5 · Quotation

    Love the LORD your God with all your heart.

  • Mark 12:30 · Parallel account

    Mark adds "with all your strength".

  • Luke 10:27 · Parallel account

    The same command in Luke.

Sources

Verse 38

Jesus says loving God is the first and greatest commandment.

Explanation

Out of all the commands in the law, Jesus puts love for God first. Everything else flows from this.

Original language
  • μεγάλη (megalē): great
    Greek · Adjective, nominative, singular, feminine · Strong's G3173 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Great.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Matthew 22:38, word 4

  • πρώτη (prōtē): first
    Greek · Adjective, nominative, singular, feminine · Strong's G4413G · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    First.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Matthew 22:38, word 6

  • ἐντολή (entolē): commandment
    Greek · Noun, nominative, singular, feminine · Strong's G1785 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Commandment.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Matthew 22:38, word 7

Cross-references
Sources

Original language and places

Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.

Verse 37

Original language (Greek)

ὁ δὲ ἔφη αὐτῷ· ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ψυχῇ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ σου.

  1. ὁho“<the>”
    Article, nominative, singular, masculine · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  2. δὲde“And”
    Conjunction · from δέ · “but/and” · Strong's G1161
  3. ἔφηephē“was saying”
    Verb, imperfect, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · from φημί · “to say” · Strong's G5346
  4. αὐτῷ·autō“to him;”
    Personal pronoun, dative, singular, masculine · from αὐτός · “he/she/it/self” · Strong's G0846
  5. ἀγαπήσειςagapēseis“You will love”
    Verb, future, active, indicative, 2nd person singular · from ἀγαπάω · “to love” · Strong's G0025
  6. κύριονkurion“[the] Lord”
    Noun, accusative, singular, masculine · from κύριος · “lord” · Strong's G2962G
  7. τὸνton“the”
    Article, accusative, singular, masculine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  8. θεόνtheon“God”
    Noun, accusative, singular, masculine · from θεός · “God” · Strong's G2316
  9. σουsou“of you”
    Personal pronoun, 2nd person, genitive, singular · from σύ · “you” · Strong's G4771
  10. ἐνen“with”
    Preposition · “in/on/among” · Strong's G1722
  11. ὅλῃholē“all”
    Adjective, dative, singular, feminine · from ὅλος · “all” · Strong's G3650
  12. τῇtēa“the”
    Article, dative, singular, feminine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  13. καρδίᾳkardia“heart”
    Noun, dative, singular, feminine · from καρδία · “heart” · Strong's G2588
  14. σουsou“of you”
    Personal pronoun, 2nd person, genitive, singular · from σύ · “you” · Strong's G4771
  15. καὶkai“and”
    Conjunction · from καί · “and” · Strong's G2532
  16. ἐνen“with”
    Preposition · “in/on/among” · Strong's G1722
  17. ὅλῃholē“all”
    Adjective, dative, singular, feminine · from ὅλος · “all” · Strong's G3650
  18. τῇtēa“the”
    Article, dative, singular, feminine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  19. ψυχῇpsuchēa“soul”
    Noun, dative, singular, feminine · from ψυχή · “soul” · Strong's G5590G
  20. σουsou“of you”
    Personal pronoun, 2nd person, genitive, singular · from σύ · “you” · Strong's G4771
  21. καὶkai“and”
    Conjunction · from καί · “and” · Strong's G2532
  22. ἐνen“with”
    Preposition · “in/on/among” · Strong's G1722
  23. ὅλῃholē“all”
    Adjective, dative, singular, feminine · from ὅλος · “all” · Strong's G3650
  24. τῇtēa“the”
    Article, dative, singular, feminine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  25. διανοίᾳdianoia“mind”
    Noun, dative, singular, feminine · from διάνοια · “mind” · Strong's G1271
  26. σου.sou“of you.’”
    Personal pronoun, 2nd person, genitive, singular · from σύ · “you” · Strong's G4771

Verse 38

Original language (Greek)

αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μεγάλη καὶ πρώτη ἐντολή.

  1. αὕτηhautē“This”
    Demonstrative pronoun, nominative, singular, feminine · from οὗτος · “this/he/she/it” · Strong's G3778
  2. ἐστὶνestin“is”
    Verb, present, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · from εἰμί · “to be” · Strong's G1510
  3. ἡhē“the”
    Article, nominative, singular, feminine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  4. μεγάληmegalē“great”
    Adjective, nominative, singular, feminine · from μέγας · “great” · Strong's G3173
  5. καὶkai“and”
    Conjunction · from καί · “and” · Strong's G2532
  6. πρώτηprōtē“first”
    Adjective, nominative, singular, feminine · from πρῶτος · “first” · Strong's G4413G
  7. ἐντολή.entolē“commandment.”
    Noun, nominative, singular, feminine · from ἐντολή · “commandment” · Strong's G1785
  • Prepared by the God & Savior team. Not yet reviewed by an editor.
  • Greek words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)