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Why Different Translations for Matthew 19:16-17?

Question:

Mat 19:16-17 have different translations from KJV to USCCB, trading "Good Master" for "Teacher" and removing, "why do you call me good?" Why?

Answer:

Let’s compare three translation of this passage: the New American Bible (NAB), the Catholic translation which is used for Sunday and daily Mass readings; the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE), which is used for scriptural references in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC); and the King James Version (KJV), a popular Protestant translation dating to the early 1600s:

NAB16 Now someone approached him and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” 17 He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

RSVCE16 And behold, one came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”

KJV16 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.

The RSVCE offers the most precise scholarly translation, and so the NAB is more exact in translating “Why do you ask me about the good?” vs. the KJV’s “Why callest me good?” In any event, both the NAB and KJV affirm that Jesus is saying that only God is good without qualification, and so we can see an invitation to the rich young man to have a deeper faith in Jesus.

In addition, as the RSVCE again illustrates, “Teacher” is a more precise translation of the Greek than is “Good Master.”

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