Ezekiel 34:4

34:4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost, but with force and harshness ¹  you have ruled over them.

Ezekiel 34:6

34:6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over the entire face of the earth with no one looking or searching for them.

Ezekiel 34:18-19

34:18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? When you drink clean water, must you muddy the rest of the water by trampling it with your feet? 34:19 As for my sheep, they must eat what you trampled with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet!

Ezekiel 34:21

34:21 Because you push with your side and your shoulder, and thrust your horns at all the weak sheep until you scatter them abroad, ² 

John 10:1

Jesus as the Good Shepherd

10:1 “I tell you the solemn truth, ³  the one who does not enter the sheepfold ⁴  by the door, ⁵  but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.

John 10:12-13

10:12 The hired hand, ⁶  who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons ⁷  the sheep and runs away. ⁸  So the wolf attacks ⁹  the sheep and scatters them. 10:13 Because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep, ¹⁰  he runs away. ¹¹ 

¹ tn The term translated “harshness” is used to describe the oppression the Israelites suffered as slaves in Egypt (Exod 1:13).

² tn Heb “outside.”

³ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

⁴ sn There was more than one type of sheepfold in use in Palestine in Jesus’ day. The one here seems to be a courtyard in front of a house (the Greek word used for the sheepfold here, αὐλή [aulh] frequently refers to a courtyard), surrounded by a stone wall (often topped with briars for protection).

⁵ tn Or “entrance.”

⁶ sn Jesus contrasts the behavior of the shepherd with that of the hired hand. This is a worker who is simply paid to do a job; he has no other interest in the sheep and is certainly not about to risk his life for them. When they are threatened, he simply runs away.

⁷ tn Grk “leaves.”

⁸ tn Or “flees.”

⁹ tn Or “seizes.” The more traditional rendering, “snatches,” has the idea of seizing something by force and carrying it off, which is certainly possible here. However, in the sequence in John 10:12, this action precedes the scattering of the flock of sheep, so “attacks” is preferable.

¹⁰ tn Grk “does not have a care for the sheep.”

¹¹ tc The phrase “he runs away” is lacking in several important mss (Ì^{44vid,45,66,75} א A*^vid B D L [W] Θ 1 33 1241 al co). Most likely it was added by a later scribe to improve the readability of vv. 12-13, which is one long sentence in Greek. It has been included in the translation for the same stylistic reasons.