Matthew 12:11

12:11 He said to them, “Would not any one of you, if he had one sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, take hold of it and lift it out?

Psalms 119:176

119:176 I have wandered off like a lost sheep. ¹ 

Come looking for your servant,

for I do not forget your commands.

Isaiah 53:6

53:6 All of us had wandered off like sheep;

each of us had strayed off on his own path,

but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him. ² 

Jeremiah 50:6

50:6 “My people have been lost sheep.

Their shepherds ³  have allow them to go astray.

They have wandered around in the mountains.

They have roamed from one mountain and hill to another. ⁴ 

They have forgotten their resting place.

Ezekiel 34:16

34:16 I will seek the lost and bring back the strays; I will bandage the injured and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them – with judgment!

Ezekiel 34:28

34:28 They will no longer be prey for the nations and the wild beasts will not devour them. They will live securely and no one will make them afraid.

Luke 15:4-7

15:4 “Which one ⁵  of you, if he has a hundred ⁶  sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture ⁷  and go look for ⁸  the one that is lost until he finds it? ⁹  15:5 Then ¹⁰  when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 15:6 Returning ¹¹  home, he calls together ¹²  his ¹³  friends and neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 15:7 I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner ¹⁴  who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people ¹⁵  who have no need to repent. ¹⁶ 

John 10:11-21

10:11 “I am the good ¹⁷  shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life ¹⁸  for the sheep. 10:12 The hired hand, ¹⁹  who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons ²⁰  the sheep and runs away. ²¹  So the wolf attacks ²²  the sheep and scatters them. 10:13 Because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep, ²³  he runs away. ²⁴ 

10:14 “I am the good shepherd. I ²⁵  know my own ²⁶  and my own know me – 10:15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life ²⁷  for ²⁸  the sheep. 10:16 I have ²⁹  other sheep that do not come from ³⁰  this sheepfold. ³¹  I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice, ³²  so that ³³  there will be one flock and ³⁴  one shepherd. 10:17 This is why the Father loves me ³⁵  – because I lay down my life, ³⁶  so that I may take it back again. 10:18 No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down ³⁷  of my own free will. ³⁸  I have the authority ³⁹  to lay it down, and I have the authority ⁴⁰  to take it back again. This commandment ⁴¹  I received from my Father.”

10:19 Another sharp division took place among the Jewish people ⁴²  because of these words. 10:20 Many of them were saying, “He is possessed by a demon and has lost his mind! ⁴³  Why do you listen to him?” 10:21 Others said, “These are not the words ⁴⁴  of someone possessed by a demon. A demon cannot cause the blind to see, ⁴⁵  can it?” ⁴⁶ 

John 10:1

Jesus as the Good Shepherd

10:1 “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁴⁷  the one who does not enter the sheepfold ⁴⁸  by the door, ⁴⁹  but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.

John 2:25

2:25 He did not need anyone to testify about man, ⁵⁰  for he knew what was in man. ⁵¹ 

[119:176]  ¹ tn Heb “I stray like a lost sheep.” It is possible that the point of the metaphor is vulnerability: The psalmist, who is threatened by his enemies, feels as vulnerable as a straying, lost sheep. This would not suggest, however, that he has wandered from God’s path (see the second half of the verse, as well as v. 110).

[53:6]  ² tn Elsewhere the Hiphil of פָגַע (paga’) means “to intercede verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25) or “to intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16), but neither nuance fits here. Apparently here the Hiphil is the causative of the normal Qal meaning, “encounter, meet, touch.” The Qal sometimes refers to a hostile encounter or attack; when used in this way the object is normally introduced by the preposition -בְּ (bet, see Josh 2:16; Judg 8:21; 15:12, etc.). Here the causative Hiphil has a double object – the Lord makes “sin” attack “him” (note that the object attacked is introduced by the preposition -בְּ. In their sin the group was like sheep who had wandered from God’s path. They were vulnerable to attack; the guilt of their sin was ready to attack and destroy them. But then the servant stepped in and took the full force of the attack.

[50:6]  ³ sn The shepherds are the priests, prophets, and leaders who have led Israel into idolatry (2:8).

[50:6]  ⁴ sn The allusion here, if it is not merely a part of the metaphor of the wandering sheep, is to the worship of the false gods on the high hills (2:20, 3:2).

[15:4]  ⁵ tn Grk “What man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a somewhat generic sense.

[15:4]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Or “desert,” but here such a translation might suggest neglect of the 99 sheep left behind.

[15:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “go after,” but in contemporary English the idiom “to look for” is used to express this.

[15:4]  ⁹ 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.

[15:5]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[15:6]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And coming into his…” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[15:6]  ¹² sn A touch of drama may be present, as the term calls together can mean a formal celebration (1 Kgs 1:9-10).

[15:6]  ¹³ tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215). It occurs before “neighbors” as well (“his friends and his neighbors”) but has not been translated the second time because of English style.

[15:7]  ¹⁴ sn There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. The pursuit of the sinner is a priority in spite of the presence of others who are doing well (see also Luke 5:32; 19:10). The theme of repentance, a major Lukan theme, is again emphasized.

[15:7]  ¹⁵ tn Here δικαίοις (dikaioi") is an adjective functioning substantivally and has been translated “righteous people.”

[15:7]  ¹⁶ tn Or “who do not need to repent”; Grk “who do not have need of repentance.”

[10:11]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Or “The good shepherd dies willingly.”

[10:12]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Grk “leaves.”

[10:12]  ²¹ tn Or “flees.”

[10:12]  ²² 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.

[10:13]  ²³ tn Grk “does not have a care for the sheep.”

[10:13]  ²⁴ tc The phrase “he runs away” is lacking in several important mss (Ì^{44vid,45,66,75} א A*^vid B D L [W] Θ 1 33 1241 al co). Most likely it was added by a later scribe to improve the readability of vv. 12-13, which is one long sentence in Greek. It has been included in the translation for the same stylistic reasons.

[10:14]  ²⁵ tn Grk “And I.” 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.

[10:14]  ²⁶ tn The direct object is frequently omitted in Greek and must be supplied from the context. Here it could be “sheep,” but Jesus was ultimately talking about “people.”

[10:15]  ²⁷ tn Or “I die willingly.”

[10:15]  ²⁸ tn Or “on behalf of” or “for the sake of.”

[10:16]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn Or “that do not belong to”; Grk “that are not of.”

[10:16]  ³¹ 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]  ³² tn Grk “they will hear my voice.”

[10:16]  ³³ tn Grk “voice, and.”

[10:16]  ³⁴ 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.

[10:17]  ³⁵ tn Grk “Because of this the Father loves me.”

[10:17]  ³⁶ tn Or “die willingly.”

[10:18]  ³⁷ tn Or “give it up.”

[10:18]  ³⁸ tn Or “of my own accord.” “Of my own free will” is given by BDAG 321 s.v. ἐμαυτοῦ c.

[10:18]  ³⁹ tn Or “I have the right.”

[10:18]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “I have the right.”

[10:18]  ⁴¹ tn Or “order.”

[10:19]  ⁴² tn Or perhaps “the Jewish religious leaders”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase could be taken to refer to the Jewish religious leaders, since the Pharisees were the last to be mentioned specifically by name, in John 9:40. However, in light of the charge about demon possession, which echoes 8:48, it is more likely that Jewish people in general (perhaps in Jerusalem, if that is understood to be the setting of the incident) are in view here.

[10:20]  ⁴³ tn Or “is insane.” To translate simply “he is mad” (so KJV, ASV, RSV; “raving mad” NIV) could give the impression that Jesus was angry, while the actual charge was madness or insanity.

[10:21]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “the sayings.”

[10:21]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “open the eyes of the blind” (“opening the eyes” is an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

[10:21]  ⁴⁶ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “can it?”).

[10:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[10:1]  ⁴⁸ sn There was more than one type of sheepfold in use in Palestine in Jesus’ day. The one here seems to be a courtyard in front of a house (the Greek word used for the sheepfold here, αὐλή [aulh] frequently refers to a courtyard), surrounded by a stone wall (often topped with briars for protection).

[10:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “entrance.”

[2:25]  ⁵⁰ tn The masculine form has been retained here in the translation to maintain the connection with “a man of the Pharisees” in 3:1, with the understanding that the reference is to people of both genders.

[2:25]  ⁵¹ tn See previous note on “man” in this verse.