(2) The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 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 and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. There is none other commandment greater than these.

(13) Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

(21) Ob- serve this commandment and do it, my son, that thou mayst be upright in all thy deeds.

(1) THE Pharisees had heard that Jesus had put the Sadducees to silence; and one of them which was a lawyer, perceiving that Jesus had answered the Sadducees well, asked him, tempting him, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Which is the first commandment of all? Jesus said unto him,

(1) Now that is in our power, of which equally with its opposite we are masters, - as, say to philosophize or not, to believe or disbelieve. In consequence, then, of our being equally masters of each of the opposites, what depends on us is found possible. Now the commandments may be done or not done by us, who, as is reasonable, are liable to praise and blame. And those, again, who are punished on account of sins committed by them, are punished for them alone; for what is done is past, and what is done can never be undone.

(54) “To love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and to love thy neighbour as thyself.”64 And in these two commandments all others are briefly comprehended. There is nothing more precious to God, or more profitable to man, than humble obedience. In His eyes, one good work, wrought from true obedience, is of more value than a hundred thousand, wrought from self-will, contrary to obedience. Therefore he who hath this obedience need not dread Him, for such a man is in the right way, and following after Christ. That we may thus deny ourselves, and forsake and renounce all things for God’s sake, and give up our own wills, and die unto ourselves, and live unto God alone and to His will, may He help us, who gave up His will to His Heavenly Father,—Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be blessing for ever and ever. Amen.

(33) And clo thou, Moses, write (it) down for Israel that they may observe it, and do according to these words, and not commit a sin unto death ; for the Lord our God is judge, who respecteth not persons and accepteth not gifts.

(20) I implore you, my sons, love the God of heaven, And cleave ye to all His commandments. And walk not after their idols, and after their uncleannesses,

(15) For the command is ordained for a covenant, that they should observe it for ever among all the children of Israel.

(3) For the law, in its solicitude for those who obey, trains up to piety, and prescribes what is to be done, and restrains each one from sins, imposing penalties even on lesser sins.

(5) But ye say, If a man shall say (Whosoever shall say) to his father or his mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; and honor not his father or his mother: he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do aught for his father or his mother; making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered; and many such like things do ye. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

(36) And this I command you, my sons, that ye practise righteousness and uprightness on the earth, so that the Lord may bring upon you all that the Lord said thathe would do to Abraham and to his seed.

(30) All this account I have written for thee, and have commanded thee to say to the children of Israel, that they should not commit sin nor transgress the ordinances nor break the covenant which hath been ordained for them, (but) that they should fulfil it and be recorded as friends.

(30) Likewise they do not need that men should give them precepts, or command them to do right and not to do wrong, and the like; for the same admirable Master who teacheth them what is good or not good, what is higher and lower, and in short leadeth them into all truth, He reigneth also within them, and biddeth them to hold fast that which is good, and to let the rest go, and to Him they give ear. Behold! in this sense they need not to wait upon any law, either to teach or to command them. In another sense also they need no law; namely, in order to seek or win something thereby or get any advantage for themselves. For whatever help toward eternal life, or furtherance in the way everlasting, they might obtain from the aid, or counsel, or words, or works of any creature, they possess already beforehand. Behold! in this sense also it is true, that we may rise above all law and virtue, and also above the works and knowledge and powers of any creature.

(20) Wherefore also the Lord, drawing the commandments, both the first which He gave, and the second, from one fountain, neither allowed those who were before the law to be without law, nor permitted those who were unacquainted with the principles of the Barbarian philosophy to be without restraint. For, having furnished the one with the commandments, and the other with philosophy, He shut up unbelief to the Advent. Whence every one who believes not is without excuse. For by a different process of advancement, both Greek and Barbarian, He leads to the perfection which is by faith.

(23) A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

(69) And through that oath the sun and moon complete their course, And deviate not from their ordinance from eternity to eternity.

(50) And every man who doeth any work thereon, or goeth a journey, or tilleth (his) farm, whether in his house or any other place, and whoever lighteth a fire, or rideth on any beast, or travelleth by ship on the sea, and whoever striketh or killeth anything, or slaughter- ed a beast or a bird, or whoever catcheth an animal or a bird or a fish, or whoever fastcth or maketh war on the Sabbaths :

(6) Thus it is en- graven and ordained on the heavenly tables. And there is no neglecting (this commandment) for a single year or from year to year.

(8) These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was with you, That all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.