Discovery BoxJohn 10:1
Context10:1 “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.
Isaiah 56:10-12
Context56:10 All their watchmen 4 are blind,
they are unaware. 5
All of them are like mute dogs,
unable to bark.
They pant, 6 lie down,
and love to snooze.
56:11 The dogs have big appetites;
they are never full. 7
They are shepherds who have no understanding;
they all go their own way,
each one looking for monetary gain. 8
‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!
Let’s guzzle some beer!
Tomorrow will be just like today!
We’ll have everything we want!’ 10
Ezekiel 22:25-28
Context22:25 Her princes 11 within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows 12 within it. 22:26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, 13 or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore 14 my Sabbaths and I am profaned in their midst. 22:27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey – shedding blood and destroying lives – so they can get dishonest profit. 22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. 15 They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken.
Ezekiel 34:2
Context34:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds 16 of Israel; prophesy, and say to them – to the shepherds: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock?
Zephaniah 3:3
Context3:3 Her princes 17 are as fierce as roaring lions; 18
her rulers 19 are as hungry as wolves in the desert, 20
who completely devour their prey by morning. 21
Zechariah 11:4-9
Context11:4 The Lord my God says this: “Shepherd the flock set aside for slaughter. 11:5 Those who buy them 22 slaughter them and are not held guilty; those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich.’ Their own shepherds have no compassion for them. 11:6 Indeed, I will no longer have compassion on the people of the land,” says the Lord, “but instead I will turn every last person over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not deliver it from them.”
11:7 So I 23 began to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter, the most afflicted 24 of all the flock. Then I took two staffs, 25 calling one “Pleasantness” 26 and the other “Binders,” 27 and I tended the flock. 11:8 Next I eradicated the three shepherds in one month, 28 for I ran out of patience with them and, indeed, they detested me as well. 11:9 I then said, “I will not shepherd you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be eradicated, let it be eradicated. As for those who survive, let them eat each other’s flesh!”
Zechariah 11:16
Context11:16 Indeed, I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not take heed to the sheep headed to slaughter, will not seek the scattered, and will not heal the injured. 29 Moreover, he will not nourish the one that is healthy but instead will eat the meat of the fat sheep 30 and tear off their hooves.
Acts 5:36
Context5:36 For some time ago 31 Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He 32 was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and nothing came of it. 33
[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).
[56:10] 4 sn The “watchmen” are probably spiritual leaders, most likely prophets and priests, responsible for giving the people moral direction.
[56:10] 5 tn Heb “they do not know”; KJV “they are all ignorant”; NIV “they all lack knowledge.”
[56:10] 6 tn The Hebrew text has הֹזִים (hozim), which appears to be derived from an otherwise unattested verbal root הָזָה (hazah). On the basis of alleged cognates, BDB 223 s.v. הָזָה offers the definition “dream, rave” while HALOT 243 s.v. הזה lists “pant.” In this case the dog metaphor of the preceding lines continues. The reference to dogs at the beginning of v. 11 favors the extension of the metaphor. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has חזים (“seers”) here. In this case the “watchmen” are directly identified as prophets and depicted as lazy.
[56:11] 7 sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.
[56:11] 8 tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”
[56:12] 9 tn The words “each one says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[56:12] 10 tn Heb “great, [in] abundance, very much,” i.e., “very great indeed.” See HALOT 452 s.v. יֶתֶר.
[22:25] 11 tn Heb “a conspiracy of her prophets is in her midst.” The LXX reads “whose princes” rather than “a conspiracy of prophets.” The prophets are mentioned later in the paragraph (v. 28). If one follows the LXX in verse 25, then five distinct groups are mentioned in vv. 25-29: princes, priests, officials, prophets, and the people of the land. For a defense of the Septuagintal reading, see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:32, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:720, n. 4.
[22:25] 12 tn Heb “her widows they have multiplied.” The statement alludes to their murderous acts.
[22:26] 13 tn Or “between the consecrated and the common.”
[22:26] 14 tn Heb “hide their eyes from.” The idiom means to disregard or ignore something or someone (see Lev 20:4; 1 Sam 12:3; Prov 28:27; Isa 1:15).
[22:28] 15 tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.
[34:2] 16 tn The term shepherd is applied to kings in the ancient Near East. In the OT the
[3:3] 18 tn Heb “her princes in her midst are roaring lions.” The metaphor has been translated as a simile (“as fierce as”) for clarity.
[3:3] 19 tn Traditionally “judges.”
[3:3] 20 tn Heb “her judges [are] wolves of the evening,” that is, wolves that prowl at night. The translation assumes an emendation to עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “desert”). For a discussion of this and other options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 128. The metaphor has been translated as a simile (“as hungry as”) for clarity.
[3:3] 21 tn Heb “they do not gnaw [a bone] at morning.” The precise meaning of the line is unclear. The statement may mean these wolves devour their prey so completely that not even a bone is left to gnaw by the time morning arrives. For a discussion of this and other options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 129.
[11:5] 22 sn The expression those who buy them appears to be a reference to the foreign nations to whom Israel’s own kings “sold” their subjects. Far from being good shepherds, then, they were evil and profiteering. The whole section (vv. 4-14) refers to the past when the
[11:7] 23 sn The first person pronoun refers to Zechariah himself who, however, is a “stand-in” for the
[11:7] 24 tc For the MT reading לָכֵן עֲנִיֵּי (lakhen ’aniyyey, “therefore the [most] afflicted of”) the LXX presupposes לִכְנַעֲנֵיּי (“to the merchants of”). The line would then read “So I began to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter for the sheep merchants” (cf. NAB). This helps to explain the difficult לָכֵן (lakhen) here but otherwise has no attestation or justification, so the MT is followed by most modern English versions.
[11:7] 25 sn The two staffs represent the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. For other examples of staffs representing tribes or nations see Num 17:1-11; Ezek 37:15-23.
[11:7] 26 tn The Hebrew term נֹעַם (no’am) is frequently translated “Favor” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. KJV “Beauty”; CEV “Mercy.”
[11:7] 27 tn The Hebrew term חֹבְלִים (khovlim) is often translated “Union” (so NASB, NIV, NLT); cf. KJV, ASV “Bands”; NAB “Bonds”; NRSV, TEV, CEV “Unity”).
[11:8] 28 sn Zechariah is only dramatizing what God had done historically (see the note on the word “cedars” in 11:1). The “one month” probably means just any short period of time in which three kings ruled in succession. Likely candidates are Elah, Zimri, Tibni (1 Kgs 16:8-20); Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem (2 Kgs 15:8-16); or Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah (2 Kgs 24:1–25:7).
[11:16] 29 tn Heb “the broken” (so KJV, NASB; NRSV “the maimed”).
[11:16] 30 tn Heb “the fat [ones].” Cf. ASV “the fat sheep”; NIV “the choice sheep.”
[5:36] 31 tn Grk “For before these days.”
[5:36] 32 tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point.
[5:36] 33 tn Grk “and they came to nothing.” Gamaliel’s argument is that these two insurrectionists were taken care of by natural events.
