Psalms 77:20

77:20 You led your people like a flock of sheep,

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Psalms 78:52

78:52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep;

he led them through the wilderness like a flock.

Isaiah 49:9-10

49:9 You will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’

and to those who are in dark dungeons, ‘Emerge.’

They will graze beside the roads;

on all the slopes they will find pasture.

49:10 They will not be hungry or thirsty;

the sun’s oppressive heat will not beat down on them,

for one who has compassion on them will guide them;

he will lead them to springs of water.

Isaiah 63:11

63:11 His people remembered the ancient times.

Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea,

along with the shepherd of his flock?

Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them,

John 10:3-4

10:3 The doorkeeper opens the door for him, 10  and the sheep hear his voice. He 11  calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 12  10:4 When he has brought all his own sheep 13  out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize 14  his voice.

tn Heb “to say.” In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct is subordinated to what precedes.

tn Heb “in darkness” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “the prisoners of darkness.”

tn Heb “show yourselves” (so ASV, NAB, NASB).

tn Heb “and the heat and the sun will not strike them.” In Isa 35:7, its only other occurrence in the OT, שָׁרָב (sharav) stands parallel to “parched ground” and in contrast to “pool.” In later Hebrew and Aramaic it refers to “dry heat, heat of the sun” (Jastrow 1627 s.v.). Here it likely has this nuance and forms a hendiadys with “sun.”

tn Heb “and he remembered the days of antiquity, Moses, his people.” The syntax of the statement is unclear. The translation assumes that “his people” is the subject of the verb “remembered.” If original, “Moses” is in apposition to “the days of antiquity,” more precisely identifying the time period referred to. However, the syntactical awkwardness suggests that “Moses” may have been an early marginal note (perhaps identifying “the shepherd of his flock” two lines later) that has worked its way into the text.

tn The Hebrew text has a plural form, which if retained and taken as a numerical plural, would probably refer to Moses, Aaron, and the Israelite tribal leaders at the time of the Exodus. Most prefer to emend the form to the singular (רָעָה, raah) and understand this as a reference just to Moses.

sn See the note at v. 10.

tn Or “porter” (British English).

tn The words “the door” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

10 tn Grk “For this one.”

11 tn Grk “And he.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

12 sn He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Some interpreters have suggested that there was more than one flock in the fold, and there would be a process of separation where each shepherd called out his own flock. This may also be suggested by the mention of a doorkeeper in v. 3 since only the larger sheepfolds would have such a guard. But the Gospel of John never mentions a distinction among the sheep in this fold; in fact (10:16) there are other sheep which are to be brought in, but they are to be one flock and one shepherd.

13 tn The word “sheep” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

14 tn Grk “because they know.”