Paragraph 22:37–40
22:37a
And he said to him: The pronoun he refers to Jesus. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Jesus said to him (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
He answered (Good News Translation)
You shall love: In Greek, the verb love is future tense, but it has the force of a command. Also, the pronoun You is singular, but it applies to everyone. You should use whatever form is most natural in your language for such a command. Remember that God originally gave this command.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
You (plur.) must love
-or-
Love (plur.)
-or-
Everyone/People must love
love: The verb love refers to actions that someone takes on behalf of someone else. It refers to acts of kindness and service. Love for God suggests a way of life. In many languages, the concept of love will be mainly what a person feels for a spouse or children or other people he/she is close to. However, if you have a way of expressing the idea of devotion and commitment to God, use it here. The word love does not refer primarily to an emotion or something that you feel. However, that can be a part of the meaning.
The verb love is is also in 5:43b.
the Lord your God: The phrase the Lord your God indicates that the Lord is the God with whom people have a relationship. It implies that the Lord guides and cares for them as God, and they worship and serve him.
Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
the Lord, who is your God
-or-
your Lord/Master God
-or-
God who is your Lord/Master
In some languages, the phrase your God is not natural. If that is true in your language, some other ways to translate this phrase are:
the Lord God, whom you ⌊worship/serve⌋
-or-
God the Lord, who ⌊cares for⌋ you
-or-
the Lord, the God whom you ⌊worship⌋
This phrase is also in 4:7b. Translate it the same way here.
22:37b
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind: The Greek words that the English Standard Version translates as heart, soul and mind are very close in meaning. Each of these three words occurs with the word all. Together, they express the idea of the whole of a person’s life.
Some languages may not have three terms to distinguish these ideas. Those languages can combine these three terms into two terms, or into one phrase. For example:
with all your inner being and with all your thinking
-or-
with your whole life
If you are doing cross-references or footnotes, this is a quote from Deuteronomy 6:5.
with all your heart: In Greek culture, the heart is the center and source of inner life. This is where thinking, feeling, and decision- making happen. Some languages use a different organ such as “liver” for this concept. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
with all your inner being
-or-
with all your insides
with all your soul: The soul is often used to describe the whole of a person as a living being. Sometimes it has a focus on a person’s feelings and emotions. Sometimes it has a focus on the quality of being in a body. But it is more than just flesh and bones. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
with all your spirit
-or-
with your whole life
with all your mind: The mind refers to the thinking and planning processes of a person. Here is another way to translate this phrase:
with all your thinking/thoughts
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