John 10:11-12

10:11 “I am the good ¹  shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life ²  for the sheep. 10:12 The hired hand, ³  who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons ⁴  the sheep and runs away. ⁵  So the wolf attacks ⁶  the sheep and scatters them.

[10:11]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Or “The good shepherd dies willingly.”

[10:12]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Grk “leaves.”

[10:12]  ⁵ tn Or “flees.”

[10:12]  ⁶ 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.