John 10:3

10:3 The doorkeeper ¹  opens the door ²  for him, ³  and the sheep hear his voice. He ⁴  calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁵ 

Isaiah 56:10-12

56:10 All their watchmen ⁶  are blind,

they are unaware. ⁷ 

All of them are like mute dogs,

unable to bark.

They pant, ⁸  lie down,

and love to snooze.

56:11 The dogs have big appetites;

they are never full. ⁹ 

They are shepherds who have no understanding;

they all go their own way,

each one looking for monetary gain. ¹⁰ 

56:12 Each one says, ¹¹ 

‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!

Let’s guzzle some beer!

Tomorrow will be just like today!

We’ll have everything we want!’ ¹² 

Ezekiel 34:2-6

34:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds ¹³  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? 34:3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep! 34:4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost, but with force and harshness ¹⁴  you have ruled over them. 34:5 They were scattered because they had no shepherd, and they became food for every wild beast. ¹⁵  34:6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over the entire face of the earth with no one looking or searching for them.

Zechariah 11:16-17

11:16 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. ¹⁶  Moreover, he will not nourish the one that is healthy but instead will eat the meat of the fat sheep ¹⁷  and tear off their hooves.

11:17 Woe to the worthless shepherd

who abandons the flock!

May a sword fall on his arm and his right eye!

May his arm wither completely away,

and his right eye become completely blind!”

Zechariah 11:1

The History and Future of Judah’s Wicked Kings

11:1 Open your gates, Lebanon,

so that the fire may consume your cedars. ¹⁸ 

Zechariah 3:3

3:3 Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes ¹⁹  as he stood there before the angel.

Zechariah 3:8

3:8 Listen now, Joshua the high priest, both you and your colleagues who are sitting before you, all of you ²⁰  are a symbol that I am about to introduce my servant, the Branch. ²¹ 

Zechariah 3:2

3:2 The Lord ²²  said to Satan, “May the Lord rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, ²³  rebuke you! Isn’t this man like a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

Zechariah 4:10

4:10 For who dares make light of small beginnings? These seven eyes ²⁴  will joyfully look on the tin tablet ²⁵  in Zerubbabel’s hand. (These are the eyes of the Lord, which constantly range across the whole earth.)

Titus 1:7

1:7 For the overseer ²⁶  must be blameless as one entrusted with God’s work, ²⁷  not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain.

Titus 1:1-2

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²⁸  a slave ²⁹  of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith ³⁰  of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness, 1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began. ³¹ 

Titus 1:2

1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began. ³² 

Titus 2:3

2:3 Older women likewise are to exhibit behavior fitting for those who are holy, not slandering, not slaves to excessive drinking, but teaching what is good.

[10:3]  ¹ tn Or “porter” (British English).

[10:3]  ² tn The words “the door” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[10:3]  ³ tn Grk “For this one.”

[10:3]  ⁴ tn Grk “And he.” 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.

[10:3]  ⁵ sn He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Some interpreters have suggested that there was more than one flock in the fold, and there would be a process of separation where each shepherd called out his own flock. This may also be suggested by the mention of a doorkeeper in v. 3 since only the larger sheepfolds would have such a guard. But the Gospel of John never mentions a distinction among the sheep in this fold; in fact (10:16) there are other sheep which are to be brought in, but they are to be one flock and one shepherd.

[56:10]  ⁶ sn The “watchmen” are probably spiritual leaders, most likely prophets and priests, responsible for giving the people moral direction.

[56:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “they do not know”; KJV “they are all ignorant”; NIV “they all lack knowledge.”

[56:10]  ⁸ 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 1QIsa^a has חזים (“seers”) here. In this case the “watchmen” are directly identified as prophets and depicted as lazy.

[56:11]  ⁹ sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.

[56:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”

[56:12]  ¹¹ tn The words “each one says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[56:12]  ¹² tn Heb “great, [in] abundance, very much,” i.e., “very great indeed.” See HALOT 452 s.v. יֶתֶר.

[34:2]  ¹³ tn The term shepherd is applied to kings in the ancient Near East. In the OT the Lord is often addressed as shepherd of Israel (Gen 49:24; Ps 8:1). The imagery of shepherds as Israel’s leaders is also employed (Jer 23:1-2).

[34:4]  ¹⁴ tn The term translated “harshness” is used to describe the oppression the Israelites suffered as slaves in Egypt (Exod 1:13).

[34:5]  ¹⁵ tn As a case of dittography, the MT repeats “and they were scattered” at the end of the verse.

[11:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the broken” (so KJV, NASB; NRSV “the maimed”).

[11:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the fat [ones].” Cf. ASV “the fat sheep”; NIV “the choice sheep.”

[11:1]  ¹⁸ sn In this poetic section, plants and animals provide the imagery for rulers, especially evil ones (cf. respectively Isa 10:33-34; Ezek 31:8; Amos 2:9; Nah 2:12).

[3:3]  ¹⁹ sn The Hebrew word צוֹאִים (tso’im) means “excrement.” This disgusting figure of speech suggests Joshua’s absolute disqualification for priestly service in the flesh, but v. 2 speaks of his having been rescued from that deplorable state by God’s grace. He is like a burning stick pulled out of the fire before it is consumed. This is a picture of cleansing, saving grace.

[3:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “these men.” The cleansing of Joshua and his elevation to enhanced leadership as a priest signify the coming of the messianic age.

[3:8]  ²¹ sn The collocation of servant and branch gives double significance to the messianic meaning of the passage (cf. Isa 41:8, 9; 42:1, 19; 43:10; 44:1, 2, 21; Ps 132:17; Jer 23:5; 33:15).

[3:2]  ²² sn The juxtaposition of the messenger of the Lord in v. 1 and the Lord in v. 2 shows that here, at least, they are one and the same. See Zech 1:11, 12 where they are distinguished from each other.

[3:2]  ²³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “these seven.” Eyes are clearly intended in the ellipsis as v. 10b shows. As in 3:9 the idea is God’s omniscience. He who knows the end from the beginning rejoices at the completion of his purposes.

[4:10]  ²⁵ tn This term is traditionally translated “plumb line” (so NASB, NIV, NLT; cf. KJV, NRSV “plummet”), but it is more likely that the Hebrew בְּדִיל (bÿdil) is to be derived not from בָּדַל (badal), “to divide,” but from a root meaning “tin.” This finds support in the ancient Near Eastern custom of placing inscriptions on tin plates in dedicatory foundation deposits.

[1:7]  ²⁶ sn The overseer is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in this passage and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between these verses and 1 Tim 3:1-7.

[1:7]  ²⁷ tn Grk “as God’s steward.”

[1:1]  ²⁸ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ²⁹ tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ³⁰ tn Grk “for the faith,” possibly, “in accordance with the faith.”

[1:2]  ³¹ tn Grk “before eternal ages.”

[1:2]  ³² tn Grk “before eternal ages.”