MARK 10:18 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) He answered, “Why do you call me good? No person is good—only God is.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT But Jesus said to him, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good except one—God.

UST Jesus replied, “You should not so quickly call me a good person! God is the only one who is good.

BSB “Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one [is] good except God alone.

MSB (Same as BSB above)

BLB And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good, except God alone.

AICNT Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except one, God.

OEB ‘Why do you call me good?’ answered Jesus. ‘No one is good but God.

WEBBE Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except one—God.

WMBB Yeshua said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except one—God.

NET Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

LSV And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one [is] good except one—God;

FBV “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good, only God.

TCNT Jesus said to him, “Why do yoʋ call me good? No one is good except God alone.

T4T Jesus said to him, “◄You should consider carefully what you are implying (OR, that you are implying that I am God) by calling me good, because only God is good!/Do you realize what you are implying (OR, that you are implying that I am God) by calling me good, because only God is good?► [RHQ] No other person is good

LEB So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

BBE And Jesus said to him, Why do you say I am good? no one is good but one, and that is God.

Moff Jesus said to him, "Why call me "good? No one is good, no one but God.

Wymth "Why do you call me good?" asked Jesus in reply; "there is no one truly good except One—that is, God.

ASV And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good save one, even God.

DRA And Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? None is good but one, that is God.

YLT And Jesus said to him, 'Why me dost thou call good? no one [is] good except One — God;

Drby But Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? no one is good but one, [that is] [fn]God.

10.18 Elohim

RV And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good save one, even God.
(And Jesus said unto him, Why callest/call thou/you me good? none is good save one, even God. )

SLT And Jesus said to him, Why sayest thou me good? none good, except the one God.

Wbstr And Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good, but one, that is God.

KJB-1769 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
(And Jesus said unto him, Why callest/call thou/you me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. )

KJB-1611 And Iesus said vnto him, Why callest thou me good? There is no man good, but one, that is God.
(And Yesus/Yeshua said unto him, Why callest/call thou/you me good? There is no man good, but one, that is God.)

Bshps Iesus sayde vnto hym: Why callest thou me good? There is no man good but one, which is God.
(Yesus/Yeshua said unto him: Why callest/call thou/you me good? There is no man good but one, which is God.)

Gnva Iesus sayde to him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, euen God.
(Yesus/Yeshua said to him, Why callest/call thou/you me good? there is none good but one, even God. )

Cvdl But Iesus saide vnto him: Why callest thou me good? There is no man good, but God onely,
(But Yesus/Yeshua said unto him: Why callest/call thou/you me good? There is no man good, but God only,)

TNT Iesus sayde to him: why callest thou me good? There is no man good but one which is God.
(Yesus/Yeshua said to him: why callest/call thou/you me good? There is no man good but one which is God. )

Wycl And Jhesus seide to hym, What seist thou, that Y am good? Ther is no man good, but God hym silf.
(And Yhesus said to him, What sayest/say thou/you, that I am good? There is no man good, but God himself.)

Luth Aber JEsus sprach zu ihm: Was heißest du mich gut? Niemand ist gut denn der einige GOtt.
( But Yesus spoke to/for him: What hottest you(sg) me good? Niemand is good because/than the/of_the some God.)

ClVg Jesus autem dixit ei: Quid me dicis bonum? nemo bonus, nisi unus Deus.[fn]
(Yesus however he/she_said to_him: What me you_say good? nobody/no_one good/kind/gracious, except one God. )

10.18 Quid me dicis. ID. Quia magistrum vocaverat bonum, etc., usque ad sed absque Deo, nullum bonum esse testatur.

10.18 What me you_say. ID. Because teacher vocaverat good, etc., until to but without to_God, none good to_be testifies.

UGNT ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ, τί με λέγεις ἀγαθόν? οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς, εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ Θεός.
(ho de Yaʸsous eipen autōi, ti me legeis agathon? oudeis agathos, ei maʸ heis ho Theos.)

SBL-GNT ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Τί με λέγεις ἀγαθόν; οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ θεός.
(ho de Yaʸsous eipen autōi; Ti me legeis agathon; oudeis agathos ei maʸ heis ho theos.)

RP-GNT Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Τί με λέγεις ἀγαθόν; Οὐδεὶς ἀγαθός, εἰ μὴ εἷς, ὁ θεός.
(Ho de Yaʸsous eipen autōi, Ti me legeis agathon; Oudeis agathos, ei maʸ heis, ho theos.)

TC-GNT Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Τί με λέγεις ἀγαθόν; Οὐδεὶς ἀγαθός, εἰ μὴ εἷς, ὁ Θεός.
(Ho de Yaʸsous eipen autōi, Ti me legeis agathon; Oudeis agathos, ei maʸ heis, ho Theos. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 10:17–31: Jesus taught about entering the kingdom of God

A young man asked Jesus how he could obtain eternal life. Jesus gave an answer that was well known to Jews. He told the man to obey God’s commands. The man said that he had been obeying God’s commands since he was a child.

Jesus then told the young man that he still needed to do one thing (10:21). He needed to give away his riches and follow Jesus. But the young man did not follow Jesus’ advice. The man was rich (10:22). He valued his riches too highly to give them up to follow Jesus.

Jesus used the young man as an example to explain that it is hard for rich people to devote themselves to God and his kingdom (10:23–25). He said that unless God makes it possible, neither a rich person nor anyone else is able to enter heaven (10:27).

Jesus promised that those who had left their possessions and family behind to serve him would receive great rewards (10:29–31).

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Jesus taught that riches make it difficult to obtain eternal life

A Rich Young Man’s Question (NCV)

The rich young man (NJB)

Riches hinder rather than help in seeking to enter the kingdom of God

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 19:16–30 and Luke 18:18–30.

10:18a

“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied.

Jesus answered, “Why do you^(sing) say that I am a good person?
Jesus replied, “Tell me what you^(sing) mean by calling me righteous/upright.

Why do you call Me good?: This is a rhetorical question. It is a mild rebuke. It probably indicates that Jesus wanted the man to think about what it meant to say that Jesus was good. He wanted the man to think about who Jesus was.

There are at least two ways to translate this rebuke:

As a rhetorical question. For example:
What do you mean when you say that I am good?
What is your reason for saying that I am good?
As a statement. For example:
You should consider what you mean when you say that I am good.

Use whichever form is most natural to express this rebuke in your language.

Jesus replied: The BSB places the words Jesus replied in the middle of Jesus’ response. In Greek, Jesus replied comes before the rhetorical question. Put the words Jesus replied in a place that is natural in your language.

10:18b

“No one is good except God alone.

Absolutely no one is good but God only.
Only God is truly good/righteous.

No one is good except God alone: The expression No one is good except God alone means “God is the only one who is truly good.” Jesus was not saying here that he himself was sinful. He was encouraging the rich man to think about what he meant when he called Jesus “good.”

Here are some other ways to translate this expression:

Absolutely no one is good but God only.

Only God is truly good. (NLT)

General Comment on 10:18a–b

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of 10:18a and 10:18b. For example:

Jesus answered, ^18b“No one is good except God alone. ^18aSo why do you call me good?”

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

δὲ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ Τί μέ λέγεις ἀγαθόν Οὐδείς ἀγαθός εἰ μή εἱς ὁ Θεός)

Here, the word But introduces what Jesus said in contrast to what the man said. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces this kind of contrast, or you could leave But untranslated. Alternate translation: [However,]

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

τί με λέγεις ἀγαθόν? οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς, εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ Θεός

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ Τί μέ λέγεις ἀγαθόν Οὐδείς ἀγαθός εἰ μή εἱς ὁ Θεός)

If it would be more natural in your language, you could reverse the order of these sentences, since the second sentence gives the reason for the result that the first sentence describes. Alternate translation: [No one is good except one—God. So, why are you calling me good?]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

τί με λέγεις ἀγαθόν?

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ Τί μέ λέγεις ἀγαθόν Οὐδείς ἀγαθός εἰ μή εἱς ὁ Θεός)

Jesus is using the question form to rebuke the man for calling another human good without thinking carefully about it. Jesus is not denying that he is good, but he wants the man to think about it more carefully. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: [You are calling me good without thinking carefully.] or [You do not understand what you are saying when you call me good!]

Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-exceptions

οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς, εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ Θεός

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ Τί μέ λέγεις ἀγαθόν Οὐδείς ἀγαθός εἰ μή εἱς ὁ Θεός)

If, in your language, it would appear that Jesus was making a statement here and then contradicting it, you could reword this to avoid using an exception clause. Alternate translation: [Only one is good—God] or [No person is good—only God is good]

Parallel MARK 10:18

Section 10:17–31: Jesus taught about entering the kingdom of God

10:18a

10:18b

General Comment on 10:18a–b