Luke 15:1-4

The Parable of the Lost Sheep and Coin

15:1 Now all the tax collectors ¹  and sinners were coming ²  to hear him. 15:2 But ³  the Pharisees ⁴  and the experts in the law ⁵  were complaining, ⁶  “This man welcomes ⁷  sinners and eats with them.”

15:3 So ⁸  Jesus ⁹  told them ¹⁰  this parable: ¹¹  15:4 “Which one ¹²  of you, if he has a hundred ¹³  sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture ¹⁴  and go look for ¹⁵  the one that is lost until he finds it? ¹⁶ 

[15:1]  ¹ sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.

[15:1]  ² tn Grk “were drawing near.”

[15:2]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[15:2]  ⁴ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[15:2]  ⁵ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[15:2]  ⁶ tn Or “grumbling”; Grk “were complaining, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:2]  ⁷ tn Or “accepts,” “receives.” This is not the first time this issue has been raised: Luke 5:27-32; 7:37-50.

[15:3]  ⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ telling of the parable is in response to the complaints of the Pharisees and experts in the law.

[15:3]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:3]  ¹⁰ sn Them means at the minimum the parable is for the leadership, but probably also for those people Jesus accepted, but the leaders regarded as outcasts.

[15:3]  ¹¹ tn Grk “parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:4]  ¹² tn Grk “What man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a somewhat generic sense.

[15:4]  ¹³ sn This individual with a hundred sheep is a shepherd of modest means, as flocks often had up to two hundred head of sheep.

[15:4]  ¹⁴ tn Or “desert,” but here such a translation might suggest neglect of the 99 sheep left behind.

[15:4]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “go after,” but in contemporary English the idiom “to look for” is used to express this.

[15:4]  ¹⁶ sn Until he finds it. The parable pictures God’s pursuit of the sinner. On the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, see John 10:1-18.