^22:37Jesus⁴⁴ said to him, “ ‘Love⁴⁵ the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’⁴⁶^22:38This is the first and greatest⁴⁷ commandment. ^22:39The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’⁴⁸^22:40All the law and the prophets depend⁴⁹ on these two commandments.”

The Messiah: David’s Son and Lord

^22:41While⁵⁰ the Pharisees⁵¹ were assembled, Jesus asked them a question:⁵²^22:42“What do you think about the Christ?⁵³ Whose son is he?” They said, “The son of David.”⁵⁴^22:43He said to them, “How then does David by the Spirit call him ‘Lord,’ saying,

^22:44‘The Lord said to my lord,⁵⁵

“Sit at my right hand,

until I put your enemies under your feet” ’?⁵⁶

^22:45If David then calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”⁵⁷^22:46No one⁵⁸ was able to answer him a word, and from that day on no one dared to question him any longer.

Read in Logos

Matthew 22:37–38: And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.

Footnotes

44 Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
45 Grk “You will love.” The future indicative is used here with imperatival force (see and ).
46 A quotation from Deut 6:5. The threefold reference to different parts of the person says, in effect, that one should love God with all one’s being.
47 Grk “the great and first.”
48 A quotation from Lev 19:18.
49 Grk “hang.” The verb κρεμάννυμι (kremannumi) is used here with a figurative meaning (cf. 2.b).
50 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
51 See the note on Pharisees in .
52 Grk “asked them a question, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is somewhat redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.
53 Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” See the note on Christ in .
54 It was a common belief in Judaism that Messiah would be the son of David in that he would come from the lineage of David. On this point the Pharisees agreed and were correct. But their understanding was nonetheless incomplete, for Messiah is also David’s Lord. With this statement Jesus was affirming that, as the Messiah, he is both God and man.
55 The Lord said to my Lord. With David being the speaker, this indicates his respect for his descendant (referred to as my Lord). Jesus was arguing, as the ancient exposition assumed, that the passage is about the Lord’s anointed. The passage looks at an enthronement of this figure and a declaration of honor for him as he takes his place at the side of God. In Jerusalem, the king’s palace was located to the right of the temple to indicate this kind of relationship. Jesus was pressing the language here to get his opponents to reflect on how great Messiah is.
56 A quotation from Ps 110:1.
57 Grk “how is he his son?”
58 Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at my right hand,

until I put your enemies under your feet” ’?

If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

“The son of David,” they replied.

He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,

“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:

“Sit at my right hand

until I put your enemies

under your feet.” ’

If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

While the Pharisees were together, Jesus questioned them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

They replied, “David’s.”

He asked them, “How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’:

The Lord declared to my Lord,

‘Sit at my right hand

until I put your enemies under your feet’?

“If David calls him ‘Lord,’ how, then, can he be his son?” No one was able to answer him at all, and from that day no one dared to question him anymore.

NLTNew Living Translation

Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

They replied, “He is the son of David.”

Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said,

‘The Lord said to my Lord,

Sit in the place of honor at my right hand

until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’

Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”

No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And he said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”

Now while the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus asked them, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “David’s.” He said to them, “How then does David, by the Spirit, call him ‘Lord,’ saying,

‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at my right hand

until I put your enemies

under your feet” ’?

If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how is he his son?” And no one was able to answer him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask him any more questions.

KJV 1900King James Version

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

Public Domain