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.

Matthew 18:12-14

18:12 What do you think? If someone ²  owns a hundred ³  sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray? ⁴  18:13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, ⁵  he will rejoice more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 18:14 In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones be lost.

Luke 15:3-7

15:3 So ⁶  Jesus ⁷  told them ⁸  this parable: ⁹  15:4 “Which one ¹⁰  of you, if he has a hundred ¹¹  sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture ¹²  and go look for ¹³  the one that is lost until he finds it? ¹⁴  15:5 Then ¹⁵  when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 15:6 Returning ¹⁶  home, he calls together ¹⁷  his ¹⁸  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 ¹⁹  who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people ²⁰  who have no need to repent. ²¹ 

Romans 3:10-19

3:10 just as it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one,

3:11 there is no one who understands,

there is no one who seeks God.

3:12 All have turned away,

together they have become worthless;

there is no one who shows kindness, not even one.” ²² 

3:13 “Their throats are open graves, ²³ 

they deceive with their tongues,

the poison of asps is under their lips.” ²⁴ 

3:14 “Their mouths are ²⁵  full of cursing and bitterness.” ²⁶ 

3:15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,

3:16 ruin and misery are in their paths,

3:17 and the way of peace they have not known.” ²⁷ 

3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” ²⁸ 

3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under ²⁹  the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

Romans 3:1

3:1 Therefore what advantage does the Jew have, or what is the value of circumcision?

Romans 2:25

2:25 For circumcision ³⁰  has its value if you practice the law, but ³¹  if you break the law, ³²  your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

[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).

[18:12]  ² tn Grk “a certain man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a somewhat generic sense.

[18:12]  ³ sn This individual with a hundred sheep is a shepherd of modest means, as flocks often had up to two hundred head of sheep.

[18:12]  ⁴ sn Look for the one that went astray. The parable pictures God’s pursuit of the sinner. On the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, see John 10:1-18.

[18:13]  ⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[15:3]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:3]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Grk “parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:4]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “What man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a somewhat generic sense.

[15:4]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Or “desert,” but here such a translation might suggest neglect of the 99 sheep left behind.

[15:4]  ¹³ tn Grk “go after,” but in contemporary English the idiom “to look for” is used to express this.

[15:4]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[15:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And coming into his…” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[15:6]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Here δικαίοις (dikaioi") is an adjective functioning substantivally and has been translated “righteous people.”

[15:7]  ²¹ tn Or “who do not need to repent”; Grk “who do not have need of repentance.”

[3:12]  ²² sn Verses 10-12 are a quotation from Ps 14:1-3.

[3:13]  ²³ tn Grk “their throat is an opened grave.”

[3:13]  ²⁴ sn A quotation from Pss 5:9; 140:3.

[3:14]  ²⁵ tn Grk “whose mouth is.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:14]  ²⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 10:7.

[3:17]  ²⁷ sn Rom 3:15-17 is a quotation from Isa 59:7-8.

[3:18]  ²⁸ sn A quotation from Ps 36:1.

[3:19]  ²⁹ tn Grk “in,” “in connection with.”

[2:25]  ³⁰ sn Circumcision refers to male circumcision as prescribed in the OT, which was given as a covenant to Abraham in Gen 17:10-14. Its importance for Judaism can hardly be overstated: According to J. D. G. Dunn (Romans [WBC], 1:120) it was the “single clearest distinguishing feature of the covenant people.” J. Marcus has suggested that the terms used for circumcision (περιτομή, peritomh) and uncircumcision (ἀκροβυστία, akrobustia) were probably derogatory slogans used by Jews and Gentiles to describe their opponents (“The Circumcision and the Uncircumcision in Rome,” NTS 35 [1989]: 77-80).

[2:25]  ³¹ tn This contrast is clearer and stronger in Greek than can be easily expressed in English.

[2:25]  ³² tn Grk “if you should be a transgressor of the law.”