Passage

Matthew 19.16-17

Behold, one came to him and said, "Good teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" 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." (Matthew 19:16-17, WEB)

Book: Matthew · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

14. But Jesus said, Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for to such belongeth the kingdom of heaven. 15. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.

16. And behold, one came to him and said, Teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17. And he said unto him, Why askest thou me concerning that which is good? One there is who is good: but if thou wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments.

He saith unto him, Which? And Jesus said, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19. Honor thy father and mother; and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. (Matthew 19:14-19, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

14. But Jesus said, “Allow the little children, and don’t forbid them to come to me; for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to ones like these.” 15. He laid his hands on them, and departed from there.

16. Behold, one came to him and said, “Good teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” 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.”

He said to him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder.’ ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ‘You shall not steal.’ ‘You shall not offer false testimony.’ 19. ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ And, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 19:14-19, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

14. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. 15. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.

16. And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17. And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19. Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Matthew 19:14-19, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

14. But Jesus said, 'Suffer the children, and forbid them not, to come unto me, for of such is the reign of the heavens;' 15. and having laid on them [his] hands, he departed thence.

16. And lo, one having come near, said to him, 'Good teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have life age-during?' 17. And he said to him, 'Why me dost thou call good? no one [is] good except One, God; but if thou dost will to enter into the life, keep the commands.'

He saith to him, 'What kind?' And Jesus said, 'Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, 19. honour thy father and mother, and, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.' (Matthew 19:14-19, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Matthew (traditionally) the tax-collector-apostle / narrator + Jesus's direct teaching
Audience: Jewish-Christian audience (heavy OT-fulfillment emphasis)
Location: first-century Palestine (events); possibly Antioch (composition)
Time period: events c. 4 BC, AD 30/33; composed c. AD 60-80

Theological reading

A rich young man approaches Jesus asking what good deed will secure eternal life. Jesus answers with a question about goodness itself, points him to the one who alone is good, and then tells him to keep the commandments. The exchange opens the rich-young-ruler episode (Matthew 19.16-30) and is one of the most contested Christological texts in the Gospels.

What good thing shall I do

Matthew frames the encounter around the good deed: the young man assumes eternal life is earned by performing some qualifying act. Jesus' reply dismantles the premise before addressing the request. If only One is good, then no human performance reaches the standard the question presupposes. The commandment list that follows (vv. 18-19) is not offered as a workable salvation path but as a diagnostic: the rest of the episode shows the man cannot keep them, his wealth exposes the first-commandment failure underneath his outward compliance, and he walks away sorrowful (v. 22). Jesus and Paul use the law's keepability the same way, as a diagnostic rather than a ladder (Paul Invented Christianity Objection Defeater develops this against the claim that they preached different gospels).

Did Jesus deny being God here

Skeptics, and Arian, Jehovah's Witness, and Muslim apologists, cite this exchange as Jesus denying His own deity. The orthodox reading takes Jesus' question as a Socratic probe, not a denial: Jesus never says "I am not good." He presses the man to think through what his own address implies. If only God is good, and the man means the word absolutely, he has just identified Jesus with God; if he does not mean it absolutely, why is he using language that implies it? The question invites a confession the young man never makes. The full treatment, with the patristic witnesses (Athanasius, Augustine, Calvin) and the deployment against the Arian reading, lives on the Markan parallel, Mark 10.18.

The textual variant

The two readings of verse 17 sit side by side in the four translations above. The Byzantine text (followed by KJV and YLT) reads "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God", matching Mark 10.18 and Luke 18.19 exactly. The critical text (followed by ASV and modern versions) reads "Why askest thou me concerning that which is good? One there is who is good." The difference is doctrinally consequential: the Byzantine reading is the wording cited for Jesus' tacit deity-claim, while the critical reading shifts the emphasis from the good teacher address to the good deed inquiry. Either way the punchline is the same, only God is good in the absolute sense, and both wordings feed the same Christological probe. Young's Literal Translation discusses the variant.

The ransom trajectory

The episode's logic runs beyond these two verses. The man cannot keep the commandments, cannot part with his wealth, and the disciples ask who then can be saved; Jesus answers that with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19.26). Psalms 49.7-9 supplies the Old Testament backdrop: no man can ransom another or give God a price for his own life. The answer arrives one chapter later, the Son of Man came to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20.28). What no rich man's wealth could buy, Christ purchases.

Cross-references

Mark 10.18, the synoptic parallel and the full deity-probe treatment (patristic readings, Arian counter-reading, apologetic deployment).
Luke 18.19, the Lukan parallel, agreeing with Mark's wording.
Matthew 19.16-30, the whole rich-young-ruler pericope this exchange opens.
Matthew 19.26, "with God all things are possible," the episode's resolution.
Psalms 49.7-9, no man can ransom another; the OT backdrop to the episode's impossibility theme.
Matthew 20.28, the Son of Man gives His life as a ransom for many.
Matthew 5.17-20, Jesus fulfills rather than abolishes the Law; the frame for the commandment list here.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Passages:

Mark 10.18

Key words

G0166 - aionios, aionios (Strong's G166). Also appears in: Matthew 19, Matthew 25.46, Mark 3.20-30.
G1520 - heis, heis (Strong's G1520). Also appears in: Matthew 5.17-18, Matthew 6.24, Matthew 6.25-34.
G2222 - zoe, zoe (Strong's G2222). Also appears in: Matthew 7.13-14, Matthew 19, Matthew 25.46.
G2316 - theos, theos (Strong's G2316). Also appears in: Matthew 1.23, Matthew 3.16, Matthew 5.9.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.

Common questions this page answers

Q: Did Jesus deny being God in Matthew 19:17?

No. Jesus never says "I am not good." He asks a question: why do you call me good, when only God is good? The question presses the young man to think through what his own address implies. If he means "good" absolutely, he has just identified Jesus with God. The church fathers read it as a probe inviting confession, not a denial, and the surrounding Gospel narrative presents Jesus forgiving sins and accepting worship.

Q: What did Jesus mean by "why do you call me good"?

Jesus was testing whether the young man meant what he said. "Good teacher" was a polite address, but Jesus takes the word seriously: only God is good in the absolute sense, so calling Jesus good either means more than the young man realized or should not be said carelessly. The question is Socratic, designed to draw out who Jesus really is.

Q: Does Matthew 19:17 teach salvation by keeping the commandments?

No. Jesus cites the commandments as a diagnostic, not a ladder. The rest of the episode shows the young man cannot actually keep them: his wealth exposes the idolatry beneath his outward compliance, and he leaves sorrowful. Jesus then tells the disciples that salvation is impossible with man but possible with God, and Matthew 20:28 gives the answer, the Son of Man giving His life as a ransom.

Q: Why do some Bibles say "why do you ask me about what is good" in Matthew 19:17?

The manuscripts differ. The Byzantine text, followed by the KJV and YLT, reads "why callest thou me good," matching Mark 10:18 and Luke 18:19. The critical text, followed by the ASV and most modern versions, reads "why do you ask me about what is good." Both readings end at the same place: only God is good.

Q: Is Matthew 19:16-17 the same story as Mark 10:17-18?

Yes, it is the same encounter with the rich young ruler, reported by three evangelists (Matthew 19, Mark 10, Luke 18). Matthew highlights the good-deed angle, what good thing must I do, while Mark and Luke highlight the good-teacher address. Both versions converge on the claim that only God is good.