10:18a

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?
-or-
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 Berean Standard Bible 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: 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.
-or-
Only God is truly good. (New Living Translation)

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?”

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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