15:1 Now all the tax collectors 1 and sinners were coming 2 to hear him. 15:2 But 3 the Pharisees 4 and the experts in the law 5 were complaining, 6 “This man welcomes 7 sinners and eats with them.”
15:3 So 8 Jesus 9 told them 10 this parable: 11 15:4 “Which one 12 of you, if he has a hundred 13 sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture 14 and go look for 15 the one that is lost until he finds it? 16 15:5 Then 17 when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 15:6 Returning 18 home, he calls together 19 his 20 friends and neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.’
1 sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.
2 tn Grk “were drawing near.”
3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
4 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
5 tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
6 tn Or “grumbling”; Grk “were complaining, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
7 tn Or “accepts,” “receives.” This is not the first time this issue has been raised: Luke 5:27-32; 7:37-50.
8 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ telling of the parable is in response to the complaints of the Pharisees and experts in the law.
9 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 sn Them means at the minimum the parable is for the leadership, but probably also for those people Jesus accepted, but the leaders regarded as outcasts.
11 tn Grk “parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
12 tn Grk “What man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a somewhat generic sense.
13 sn This individual with a hundred sheep is a shepherd of modest means, as flocks often had up to two hundred head of sheep.
14 tn Or “desert,” but here such a translation might suggest neglect of the 99 sheep left behind.
15 tn Grk “go after,” but in contemporary English the idiom “to look for” is used to express this.
16 sn Until he finds it. The parable pictures God’s pursuit of the sinner. On the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, see John 10:1-18.
17 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
18 tn Grk “And coming into his…” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
19 sn A touch of drama may be present, as the term calls together can mean a formal celebration (1 Kgs 1:9-10).
20 tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215). It occurs before “neighbors” as well (“his friends and his neighbors”) but has not been translated the second time because of English style.