John 10:10-12

10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill ¹  and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. ² 

10:11 “I am the good ³  shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life ⁴  for the sheep. 10:12 The hired hand, ⁵  who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons ⁶  the sheep and runs away. ⁷  So the wolf attacks ⁸  the sheep and scatters them.

[10:10]  ¹ tn That is, “to slaughter” (in reference to animals).

[10:10]  ² tn That is, more than one would normally expect or anticipate.

[10:11]  ³ tn Or “model” (see R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:386, who argues that “model” is a more exact translation of καλός [kalos] here).

[10:11]  ⁴ tn Or “The good shepherd dies willingly.”

[10:12]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Grk “leaves.”

[10:12]  ⁷ tn Or “flees.”

[10:12]  ⁸ 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.