Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except one—God.
Parallel Translations
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Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except one—God.
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Iesus sayde to him: why callest thou me good? There is no man good but one which is God.
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Iesus sayde to him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, euen God.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Mark 10:18 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Luke 18:19 Jesus asked him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good, except one: God.
- Matthew 19:17 He said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
- Romans 3:12 They have all turned away. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, no, not so much as one.”
- 1 Samuel 2:2 There is no one as holy as Yahweh, for there is no one besides you, nor is there any rock like our God.
- 1 John 4:16 We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.
- James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow.
- 1 John 4:8 He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love.
- Psalms 119:68 You are good, and do good. Teach me your statutes.
- John 5:41-44 I don’t receive glory from men. But I know you, that you don’t have God’s love in yourselves. I have come in my Father’s name, and you don’t receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and you don’t seek the glory that comes from the only God?
- Psalms 36:7-8 How precious is your loving kindness, God! The children of men take refuge under the shadow of your wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the abundance of your house. You will make them drink of the river of your pleasures.
- Psalms 86:5 For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, abundant in loving kindness to all those who call on you.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou…
18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
Ver. 18. {See Trapp on "Mat 19:17"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain That is, originally good, and supremely good, or perfectly…
That is, originally good, and supremely good, or perfectly good. Herein our Saviour doth not deny himself to be God, but checked him who did not believe him such, yet called him God.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain As if Christ had said, Why callest thou me…
As if Christ had said, Why callest thou me good, when thou dost not believe or own me to be God? for there is none good, that is, essentially and originally good, absolutely and immutably good, but God only; nor any derivatively good but he that receiveth his goodness from God also: there is no mere man that is absolutely and perfectly good of himself, but by participation and derivation from God only. See the note on Mat 19:17.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Thou knowest the commandments,.... Which God gave to Moses…
Thou knowest the commandments,.... Which God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai; these the Jews taught their children; so that this young man might reasonably be thought to know what, and how many they were, though he was ignorant of the extent and spirituality of them;
do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not, honour thy father and mother. In which may be observed, that the strict order in which the commandments stood is not kept; the seventh commandment, "thou shalt not commit adultery", is set before the sixth, "thou shalt not kill"; though the Arabic version places them in their order; and the fifth command, "honour thy father and thy mother", is placed last of all: but a Jew has no reason to object to this, when it is a rule with them, that (c), there is no first nor last in the law; that is, order is not strictly attended to; but sometimes, that which is first is mentioned last, and the last first. There is one precept, "defraud not", wrong no man of his property, either by force or fraud, which none of the other evangelists have. Dr. Hammond, and others, think, that it is an explanation of the tenth command, "thou shalt not covet"; signifying, that a man should be so satisfied with his own condition, as not to desire another's goods, or, by any means, seek to lessen them to enlarge his own. A certain Jew (d) objects against our Lord Jesus, that he did not mention the other precepts in Exo 20:3, by which he seems to mean the precepts of the first table, which respect the unity of God, and his worship, which are of greater moment; to which may be replied, that our Lord does suggest the unity of the Divine Being, and his essential, infinite, and independent goodness, which are the ground and foundation of his fear and worship in the preceding verse; and besides, as Bishop Kidder observes (e), nothing is more common than to put some precepts for the whole; see Mic 6:8; yea, that Jesus may be justified from the Old Testament in this method, as from Psa 15:1, where a question, very like this of the young man, is put; and yet in answer to it we find nothing mentioned but obedience to the second table: to which reply of the learned prelate, may be added, that Christ instances in the commandments of the second table, as being more known, and better understood by this young man; "thou knowest the commandments"; that is, the following ones he mentions: and besides the argument runs strong from the lesser to the greater, which is implied, that if the commands of the second table, which respect the neighbour, are necessary to be observed, then much more those which concern God himself; and if men fail short in keeping the lesser commands, it can hardly be thought they should be perfect in the observance of greater ones; and so consequently, and which is our Lord's drift, eternal life is never to be obtained by the works of the law.
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(c) T. Bab. Yesachim, fol. 6. 2. (d) R. Jacob Aben Amram, Porta Verit. num. 1026. Apud Kidder's Demonstr. of the Messiah, par. 3. p. 50. (e) Demonstrat. ib. p. 50, 51.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain None is good. Of himself, entirely and essentially, but…
None is good. Of himself, entirely and essentially, but God alone: men may be good also, but only by a participation of God’s goodness. (Challoner)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 18. Why callest thou me good?] The emphasis is…
18. Why callest thou me good?] The emphasis is on the “why.” “Dost thou know what thou meanest, when thou givest Me this appellation?” If we combine the question and rejoinder as given by St Matthew and St Luke it would seem to have run, Why askest thou Me about the good? and why callest thou Me good? None is good save One, God. Our Lord does not decline the appellation “good.” He repels it only in the superficial sense of the questioner, who regarded Him merely as a “good Rabbi.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (18) Why callest thou me good?—Our Lord’s question is,…
(18) Why callest thou me good?—Our Lord’s question is, in St. Mark’s report, in harmony with that of the seeker after life eternal. Its obvious drift was to force him back upon the conditions of absolute goodness, to make him ask himself how far, and under what conditions, that word might be used relatively of any child of man.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain Why callest
Why callest
Par., Believing Me to be but a human teacher, why callest thou Me "good," etc.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 10:18 Jesus’ reply has troubled interpreters for centuries. Jesus…
10:18 Jesus’ reply has troubled interpreters for centuries. Jesus was probably objecting to the man’s loose application of the term good to any human being, since ultimate goodness and perfection belong to God alone. Without in any way denying his own goodness, Jesus wanted to focus the rich man’s attention on God. The rich man wanted to enter the Kingdom of God, and Jesus was contrasting God’s goodness with the man’s own human sinfulness.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.