Discovery BoxJohn 10:12
Context10:12 The hired hand, 1 who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons 2 the sheep and runs away. 3 So the wolf attacks 4 the sheep and scatters them.
John 10:16
Context10:16 I have 5 other sheep that do not come from 6 this sheepfold. 7 I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice, 8 so that 9 there will be one flock and 10 one shepherd.
[10:12] 1 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 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.
[10:16] 5 tn Grk “And I have.” 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.
[10:16] 6 tn Or “that do not belong to”; Grk “that are not of.”
[10:16] 7 sn The statement I have other sheep that do not come from this sheepfold almost certainly refers to Gentiles. Jesus has sheep in the fold who are Jewish; there are other sheep which, while not of the same fold, belong to him also. This recalls the mission of the Son in 3:16-17, which was to save the world – not just the nation of Israel. Such an emphasis would be particularly appropriate to the author if he were writing to a non-Palestinian and primarily non-Jewish audience.
[10:16] 8 tn Grk “they will hear my voice.”
[10:16] 9 tn Grk “voice, and.”
[10:16] 10 tn The word “and” is not in the Greek text, but must be supplied to conform to English style. In Greek it is an instance of asyndeton (omission of a connective), usually somewhat emphatic.
