12:31a

The second is this: Here Jesus introduced the second most important of God’s commands. Here are some other ways to introduce this in English:

The second most important commandment is this: (God’s Word)
-or-
Here is God’s command that is the next in importance:

Introduce it in a natural way in your language.

12:31b

In this part of the verse Jesus was quoting from Leviticus 19:18. If you use footnotes, you may want to cross-reference this verse.

Love your neighbor as yourself: In both Hebrew and Greek, this command is in a singular form, like the command in 12:30. This indicates that it is a command to each person, but it applies to all people. Jesus made a general statement about how people should treat each other.

Languages have different ways to express commands like this. In some languages it may be more natural to use words like “we” and “our” or “they” and “their.” For example:

We(incl) must love our fellow men in the same way that we love ourselves.
-or-
People must love their neighbors in the same way that they love themselves.

Love: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as Love is the same word that was used in 12:30a. In this context it refers to the concern and affection that people should have toward other people. They should treat them kindly and seek to help them.

Consider the most appropriate term to describe this type of love. Some languages may have an idiom for it. It is possible that you may need to use different expressions to refer to love for people and love for God.

your neighbor: The word neighbor is singular, but it refers to any and all neighbors. In some languages it may be more natural to use a plural form to express this. The word neighbor means “someone who lives nearby.” It was also used to refer to people who were of the same social group or who spoke the same language. To the Jews the phrase “Love your neighbor” meant to love your fellow Jew.

In his teaching Jesus expanded the meaning of neighbor. To Jesus, the phrase “Love your neighbor” meant to love anyone you meet. (See Luke 10:27–37.) In some languages you may want to include a footnote about this.

Here are some other ways to translate the phrase your neighbor:

others (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
your fellow people

12:31c

No other commandment is greater than these: This clause indicates that no other command of God is greater than the two commands that were mentioned in 12:30 and 12:31. In this context the word greater means “more important.” (In Matthew 22:40 Jesus said that all the Jewish Scriptures are based on these two commands.)

Here is another way to translate this sentence:

Those two commands are more important than any others. (Translator’s Reference Translation)

Paragraph 12:32–34

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