Mark 12:31 — Bible Verse Meaning & Context

Mark 12:31 reads: "The second is like this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”" — from the New Testament, Mark (Gospel). The full verse is shown above with both the World English Bible (WEB) and King James Version (KJV) translations side by side.

Mark 12:31 is in the book of Mark, traditionally attributed to John Mark, recording Peter's testimony and written around c. 55–65 AD. Mark is gospel in the New Testament, originally addressed to Roman / Gentile Christians. Best known for "the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve".

Mark 12:31 is primarily a Bible verse about Love. Within Mark, Mark is the shortest, most action-driven Gospel — the word "immediately" appears more than 40 times. Read the full passage above with surrounding context.

Mark 12:31 in the World English Bible (WEB) reads: "The second is like this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”". The King James Version (KJV) reads: "And2532 the second1208 is like3664, namely this3778 846, Thou shalt love25 thy4675 neighbour4139 as5613 thyself4572. There is2076 none3756 other243 commandment1785 greater3187 than these5130.". The WEB is a modern public-domain translation that updates the KJV's 1611 English while keeping a similar formal-equivalence style. Both render the same underlying Greek or Hebrew text.

Mark 12:31 is 20 words in the WEB translation (119 characters), broken into 2 clauses. It is short and well-suited to memorisation. Estimated reading time is about 6 seconds.

To memorise Mark 12:31, split it into its 2 natural clauses and learn one at a time. Repeat the full verse out loud five times, then write it from memory. Saving the verse as a photo wallpaper using our verse image studio helps daily review — the visual association with a memorable background dramatically improves recall.

Mark is the shortest, most action-driven Gospel — the word "immediately" appears more than 40 times. Mark presents Jesus as the suffering Servant who came "not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (10:45). The book accelerates toward the cross and the empty tomb. Mark 12:31 sits within this larger story — Mark as a whole emphasises servant, action, cross.

Many readers use Mark 12:31 as a daily reminder verse — saving it as a phone wallpaper, sharing it on Pinterest, or memorising it for prayer. The verse studio on this page lets you download Mark 12:31 on 52 different backgrounds for free. Pair the verse with the surrounding chapter context shown above to understand its full meaning before applying it.