John 10:1-2

Jesus as the Good Shepherd

10:1 “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹  the one who does not enter the sheepfold ²  by the door, ³  but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 10:2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

John 10:12

10:12 The hired hand, ⁴  who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons ⁵  the sheep and runs away. ⁶  So the wolf attacks ⁷  the sheep and scatters them.

[10:1]  ¹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[10:1]  ² 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).

[10:1]  ³ tn Or “entrance.”

[10:12]  ⁴ 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.

[10:12]  ⁵ tn Grk “leaves.”

[10:12]  ⁶ tn Or “flees.”

[10:12]  ⁷ 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.