10:11 “I am the good 3 shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life 4 for the sheep. 10:12 The hired hand, 5 who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons 6 the sheep and runs away. 7 So the wolf attacks 8 the sheep and scatters them.
1 tn The word “sheep” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
2 tn Grk “because they know.”
3 tn Or “model” (see R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:386, who argues that “model” is a more exact translation of καλός [kalos] here).
4 tn Or “The good shepherd dies willingly.”
5 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.
6 tn Grk “leaves.”
7 tn Or “flees.”
8 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.
9 tn Or “I die willingly.”
10 tn Or “on behalf of” or “for the sake of.”