15:3 So 1 Jesus 2 told them 3 this parable: 4 15:4 “Which one 5 of you, if he has a hundred 6 sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture 7 and go look for 8 the one that is lost until he finds it? 9
1 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.
2 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 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.
4 tn Grk “parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
5 tn Grk “What man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a somewhat generic sense.
6 sn This individual with a hundred sheep is a shepherd of modest means, as flocks often had up to two hundred head of sheep.
7 tn Or “desert,” but here such a translation might suggest neglect of the 99 sheep left behind.
8 tn Grk “go after,” but in contemporary English the idiom “to look for” is used to express this.
9 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.