Mark 12:32

King James Version

And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, teacher. You have correctly said that he is one, and there is no one else except him.

King James Version (1611)
And the Scribe said vnto him, Well master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God, and there is none other but he.

English Standard Version
And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.

New American Standard Bible
And the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher; You have truly stated that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO OTHER BESIDES HIM;

New Century Version
The man answered, "That was a good answer, Teacher. You were right when you said God is the only Lord and there is no other God besides him.

Amplified Bible
The scribe said to Him, "Admirably answered, Teacher; You truthfully stated that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO OTHER BUT HIM;

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The scribe said to Him, "Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES HIM;

Legacy Standard Bible
And the scribe said to Him, "Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is One, and there is no one else besides Him;

Berean Standard Bible
"Right, Teacher," the scribe replied. "You have stated correctly that God is One and there is no other but Him,

Contemporary English Version
The man replied, "Teacher, you are certainly right to say there is only one God.

Complete Jewish Bible
The Torah-teacher said to him, "Well said, Rabbi; you speak the truth when you say that he is one, and that there is no other besides him;

Darby Translation
And the scribe said to him, Right, teacher; thou hast spoken according to [the] truth. For he is one, and there is none other besides him;

Easy-to-Read Version
The man answered, "That was a good answer, Teacher. You are right in saying that God is the only Lord and that there is no other God.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then that Scribe said vnto him, Well, Master, thou hast saide the trueth, that there is one God, and that there is none but he,

George Lamsa Translation
The scribe said to him, Well, Teacher, you have said the truth, that he is one, and there is no other beside him;

Good News Translation
The teacher of the Law said to Jesus, "Well done, Teacher! It is true, as you say, that only the Lord is God and that there is no other god but he.

Lexham English Bible
And the scribe said to him, "That is true, Teacher. You have said correctly that he is one and there is no other except him.

Literal Translation
And the scribe said to Him, You say well, Teacher. You have spoken according to truth, "that God is one," Deut. 6:4, 5 and "there is no other besides Him;" Deut. 4:35

American Standard Version
And the scribe said unto him, Of a truth, Teacher, thou hast well said that he is one; and there is none other but he:

Bible in Basic English
And the scribe said to him, Truly, Master, you have well said that he is one, and there is no other but he:

Hebrew Names Version
The Sofer said to him, "Truly, teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he,

International Standard Version
Then the scribe said to him, "Well said,said">[fn] Teacher! You have told the truth that 'Godhe">[fn] is one, and there is no other besides him.'Deuteronomy 6:4">[fn]Deuteronomy 4:39; Isaiah 45:6,14; 46:9;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
That Sophra said to him, Well, Rabi, and truly hast thou spoken: for One there is and no other than He:

Murdock Translation
The Scribe said to him: Excellently ! Rabbi; thou hast spoken the truth; for he is one [fn] , and there is no other beside him.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the scribe sayde vnto hym: well maister, thou hast sayde the trueth, for there is one God, & there is none but he.

English Revised Version
And the scribe said unto him, Of a truth, Master, thou hast well said that he is one; and there is none other but he:

World English Bible
The scribe said to him, "Truly, teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he,

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And the scribe said to him, Excellently well, Master! Thou hast said the truth: for He is one: and there is no other but he.

Weymouth's New Testament
So the Scribe said to Him, "Rightly, in very truth, Rabbi, have you said that He stands alone, and there is none but He;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the scribe seide to hym, Maister, in treuthe thou hast wel seid; for o God is, and ther is noon other, outakun hym;

Update Bible Version
And the scribe said to him, Of a truth, Teacher, you have well said that he is one; and there is none other but he:

Webster's Bible Translation
And the scribe said to him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is no other but he.

New English Translation
The expert in the law said to him, "That is true, Teacher; you are right to say that he is one, and there is no one else besides him .

New King James Version
So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.

New Living Translation
The teacher of religious law replied, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other.

New Life Bible
Then the teacher of the Law said, "Teacher, You have told the truth. There is one God. There is no other God but Him.

New Revised Standard
Then the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other';

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The Scribe said unto him - Well, Teacher! in truth, hast thou said - He is, One, and there is none other, than he;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the scribe said to him: Well, Master, thou hast said in truth that there is one God and there is no other besides him.

Revised Standard Version
And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that he is one, and there is no other but he;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And the Scribe sayde vnto him: well master thou hast sayd ye truthe that ther ys one God and that ther is none but he.

Young's Literal Translation
And the scribe said to him, `Well, Teacher, in truth thou hast spoken that there is one God, and there is none other but He;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the scrybe sayde vnto him: Master, Verely thou hast sayde right: for there is but one God, & there is none other without him,

Mace New Testament (1729)
the Scribe replied, what you have said, master, is very true, there is one God, and no other but he.

THE MESSAGE
The religion scholar said, "A wonderful answer, Teacher! So lucid and accurate—that God is one and there is no other. And loving him with all passion and intelligence and energy, and loving others as well as you love yourself. Why, that's better than all offerings and sacrifices put together!"

Simplified Cowboy Version
"Well said, sir," the lawyer replied. "You speak the truth in that there is one, and only one, God.

Contextual Overview

²⁸ And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? ²⁹ And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: ³⁰ And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. ³¹ And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. ³² And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: ³³ And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. ³⁴ And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

for: Deuteronomy 4:39, Deuteronomy 5:7, Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 44:8, Isaiah 45:5, Isaiah 45:6, Isaiah 45:14, Isaiah 45:18, Isaiah 45:21, Isaiah 45:22, Isaiah 46:9, Jeremiah 10:10-12

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 4:35 - none else Psalms 85:9 - Surely Proverbs 24:26 - shall Amos 5:24 - let Matthew 8:19 - certain Mark 12:29 - Hear Titus 2:8 - Sound

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the Scribe said unto him,.... This reply of the Scribe, is not related by Matthew:

well, Master, thou hast said the truth: what thou hast said is truth, and thou hast expressed it in a most beautiful manner: the Scribe was charmed with his answer, and could not forbear speaking in commendation of it, and even before the multitude, and those of his own sect: this was a rare and uncommon instance; it was not usual with the Scribes and Pharisees, whatever convictions they were laid under, either by the miracles or discourses of Christ, to own any thing, or make any concessions in his favour, or speak in his praise: but this man not only commends him, but gives reasons for it, and confirms the doctrine he taught in his own words;

for there is one God, and there is none other but he. The Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions, leave out the word "God"; but it is in the Greek copies, and rightly retained in other versions: for the sense is, that there is one God, and but one; and which is perfectly agreeable to the Christian doctrine, of a Trinity of persons in the Godhead; for though the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, yet there are not three Gods, but one God. Nor are we to imagine, that this man said or thought any thing to the contrary, or had it in his mind to oppose the doctrine of the Trinity; which, though more clearly revealed in the New Testament, was not unknown to the ancient Jews, and might be learned from the writings of the Old Testament: but this he said, in opposition to the many idols, and fictitious deities of the Gentiles; and if he spake in the Hebrew language, as it is probable he did, there must be a beautiful "paranomasia" in his words; "for there is", אחד, "Achad, one God; and there is none", אחר, "Achar, other but he": and it is observed by a Jewish writer y, that the reason why the last letter of, אחד, "one", is greater than the rest, as before observed, in Mark 12:29 is, that there might be no mistake of ד, for ר, which are much alike; and if mistook, the word would signify "another", and not "one": but this is done, lest a man should mistake, and worship "another", and not the "one" God.

y Baal Hatturim, ib.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the notes at Matthew 22:34-40.

Mark 12:28

Perceiving that he answered them well - That is, with wisdom, and with a proper understanding of the law. In this case the opinion of the Saviour corresponded with that of the Pharisees; and the question which this scribe put to him now seems to have been one of the very few candid inquiries of him by the Jews for the purpose of obtaining information. Jesus answered it in the spirit of kindness, and commended the conduct of the man.

Mark 12:29

Hear, O Israel! - This was said to call the attention of the Jews to the great importance of the truth about to be proclaimed. See Deuteronomy 6:4-5.

The Lord our God ... - Literally, “Yahweh, our God, is one Yahweh.” The other nations worshipped many gods, but the God of the Jews was one, and one only. יהוה Yahweh was undivided; and this great truth it was the design of the separation of the Jewish people from other nations to keep in mind. This was the “peculiar” truth which was communicated to the Jews, and this they were required to keep and remember forever.

Mark 12:30

And thou shalt love ... - If Yahweh was the “only” God, then they ought not to love any other being supremely - then they might not bow down before any idol. They were required to love God above all other beings or things, and with all the faculties of their minds. See the notes at Matthew 22:37.

Mark 12:32-34

This answer of the scribe is not found in Matthew.

Is more than all - Is of more importance and value.

Discreetly - Wisely, according to truth.

Not far from the kingdom of God - Thou who dost prefer the “internal” to the “external” worship of God - who hast so just a view of the requirements of the law - canst easily become a follower of me, and art almost fit to be numbered among my disciples. This shows that a proper understanding of the Old Testament, of its laws and requirements, would prepare the mind for Christianity, and suit a person at once to embrace it when presented. One system is grafted on the other, agreeably to Galatians 3:24.

And no man after that durst ask him any question - That is, no one of the scribes, the Pharisees, or the Sadducees durst ask him a question for the purpose of “tempting” him or entangling him. He had completely silenced them. It does not appear, however, but that his “disciples” dared to ask him questions for the purpose of information.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 32. And the scribe said — The answer of the scribe, contained in Mark 12:32-34, is not found either in Matthew or Luke. This is another proof against Mark's supposed abridgment.