Zechariah 11:4

11:4 The Lord my God says this: “Shepherd the flock set aside for slaughter.

Zechariah 11:7

11:7 So I ¹  began to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter, the most afflicted ²  of all the flock. Then I took two staffs, ³  calling one “Pleasantness” ⁴  and the other “Binders,” ⁵  and I tended the flock.

Isaiah 40:11

40:11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock;

he gathers up the lambs with his arm;

he carries them close to his heart; ⁶ 

he leads the ewes along.

Ezekiel 34:23-24

34:23 I will set one shepherd over them, and he will feed them – namely, my servant David. ⁷  He will feed them and will be their shepherd. 34:24 I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince ⁸  among them; I, the Lord, have spoken!

Ezekiel 37:24

37:24 “‘My servant David will be king over them; there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow ⁹  my regulations and carefully observe my statutes. ¹⁰ 

Micah 5:2

A King Will Come and a Remnant Will Prosper

5:2 (5:1) As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, ¹¹ 

seemingly insignificant ¹²  among the clans of Judah –

from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf, ¹³ 

one whose origins ¹⁴  are in the distant past. ¹⁵ 

Micah 5:4

5:4 He will assume his post ¹⁶  and shepherd the people ¹⁷  by the Lord’s strength,

by the sovereign authority of the Lord his God. ¹⁸ 

They will live securely, ¹⁹  for at that time he will be honored ²⁰ 

even in the distant regions of ²¹  the earth.

John 10:10-18

10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill ²²  and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. ²³ 

10:11 “I am the good ²⁴  shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life ²⁵  for the sheep. 10:12 The hired hand, ²⁶  who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons ²⁷  the sheep and runs away. ²⁸  So the wolf attacks ²⁹  the sheep and scatters them. 10:13 Because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep, ³⁰  he runs away. ³¹ 

10:14 “I am the good shepherd. I ³²  know my own ³³  and my own know me – 10:15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life ³⁴  for ³⁵  the sheep. 10:16 I have ³⁶  other sheep that do not come from ³⁷  this sheepfold. ³⁸  I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice, ³⁹  so that ⁴⁰  there will be one flock and ⁴¹  one shepherd. 10:17 This is why the Father loves me ⁴²  – because I lay down my life, ⁴³  so that I may take it back again. 10:18 No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down ⁴⁴  of my own free will. ⁴⁵  I have the authority ⁴⁶  to lay it down, and I have the authority ⁴⁷  to take it back again. This commandment ⁴⁸  I received from my Father.”

Hebrews 13:20

Benediction and Conclusion

13:20 Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ,

Hebrews 13:1

Final Exhortations

13:1 Brotherly love must continue.

Hebrews 5:4

5:4 And no one assumes this honor ⁴⁹  on his own initiative, ⁵⁰  but only when called to it by God, ⁵¹  as in fact Aaron was.

[11:7]  ¹ sn The first person pronoun refers to Zechariah himself who, however, is a “stand-in” for the Lord as the actions of vv. 8-14 make clear. The prophet, like others before him, probably performed actions dramatizing the account of God’s past dealings with Israel and Judah (cf. Hos 1-3; Isa 20:2-4; Jer 19:1-15; 27:2-11; Ezek 4:1-3).

[11:7]  ² tc For the MT reading לָכֵן עֲנִיֵּי (lakhen ’aniyyey, “therefore the [most] afflicted of”) the LXX presupposes לִכְנַעֲנֵיּי (“to the merchants of”). The line would then read “So I began to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter for the sheep merchants” (cf. NAB). This helps to explain the difficult לָכֵן (lakhen) here but otherwise has no attestation or justification, so the MT is followed by most modern English versions.

[11:7]  ³ sn The two staffs represent the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. For other examples of staffs representing tribes or nations see Num 17:1-11; Ezek 37:15-23.

[11:7]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term נֹעַם (no’am) is frequently translated “Favor” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. KJV “Beauty”; CEV “Mercy.”

[11:7]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term חֹבְלִים (khovlim) is often translated “Union” (so NASB, NIV, NLT); cf. KJV, ASV “Bands”; NAB “Bonds”; NRSV, TEV, CEV “Unity”).

[40:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “in his bosom” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV), an expression which reflects closeness and protective care.

[34:23]  ⁷ sn The messianic king is here called “David” (see Jer 30:9 and Hos 3:5, as well as Isa 11:1 and Mic 5:2) because he will fulfill the Davidic royal ideal depicted in the prophets and royal psalms (see Ps 2, 89).

[34:24]  ⁸ sn The messianic king (“David”) is called both “king” and “prince” in 37:24-25. The use of the term “prince” for this king facilitates the contrast between this ideal ruler and the Davidic “princes” denounced in earlier prophecies (see 7:27; 12:10, 12; 19:1; 21:25; 22:6, 25).

[37:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “walk [in].”

[37:24]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and my statutes they will guard and they will do them.”

[5:2]  ¹¹ sn Ephrathah is either an alternate name for Bethlehem or the name of the district in which Bethlehem was located. See Ruth 4:11.

[5:2]  ¹² tn Heb “being small.” Some omit לִהְיוֹת (lihyot, “being”) because it fits awkwardly and appears again in the next line.

[5:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “from you for me one will go out to be a ruler over Israel.”

[5:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his goings out.” The term may refer to the ruler’s origins (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) or to his activities.

[5:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from the past, from the days of antiquity.” Elsewhere both phrases refer to the early periods in the history of the world or of the nation of Israel. For מִקֶּדֶם (miqqedem, “from the past”) see Neh 12:46; Pss 74:12; 77:11; Isa 45:21; 46:10. For מִימֵי עוֹלָם (mimey ’olam, “from the days of antiquity”) see Isa 63:9, 11; Amos 9:11; Mic 7:14; Mal 3:4. In Neh 12:46 and Amos 9:11 the Davidic era is in view.

[5:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “stand up”; NAB “stand firm”; NASB “will arise.”

[5:4]  ¹⁷ tn The words “the people” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “by the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.”

[5:4]  ¹⁹ tn The words “in peace” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Perhaps וְיָשָׁבוּ (vÿyashavu, “and they will live”) should be emended to וְשָׁבוּ (vÿshavu, “and they will return”).

[5:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “be great.”

[5:4]  ²¹ tn Or “to the ends of.”

[10:10]  ²² tn That is, “to slaughter” (in reference to animals).

[10:10]  ²³ tn That is, more than one would normally expect or anticipate.

[10:11]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Or “The good shepherd dies willingly.”

[10:12]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ tn Grk “leaves.”

[10:12]  ²⁸ tn Or “flees.”

[10:12]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn Grk “does not have a care for the sheep.”

[10:13]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ tn Or “I die willingly.”

[10:15]  ³⁵ tn Or “on behalf of” or “for the sake of.”

[10:16]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ tn Or “that do not belong to”; Grk “that are not of.”

[10:16]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn Grk “they will hear my voice.”

[10:16]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “voice, and.”

[10:16]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² tn Grk “Because of this the Father loves me.”

[10:17]  ⁴³ tn Or “die willingly.”

[10:18]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “give it up.”

[10:18]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “of my own accord.” “Of my own free will” is given by BDAG 321 s.v. ἐμαυτοῦ c.

[10:18]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “I have the right.”

[10:18]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “I have the right.”

[10:18]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “order.”

[5:4]  ⁴⁹ sn Honor refers here to the honor of the high priesthood.

[5:4]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “by himself, on his own.”

[5:4]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “being called by God.”