John 10
1599 Geneva Bible
10 1 Christ proveth that the Pharisees are the evil shepherds, 8 and by many reasons, that himself 11, 14 is the good shepherd: 19 And thereof dissension ariseth. 31 They take up stones, 39 and go about to take him, but he escapeth.
1 Verily, [a]verily I say unto you, He that entereth not in by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up another way, he is a thief and a robber.
2 But he that goeth in by the door, is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the [b]porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
4 And when he hath sent forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
5 And they will not follow a stranger, but they flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
6 This [c]parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily I say unto you, I am that door of the sheep.
8 [d]All that [e]ever came before me, are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
9 [f]I am that door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall [g]go in, and go out, and find pasture.
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and have it in abundance.
11 (A)I am that good shepherd: that good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep.
12 But an hireling, and he which is not the shepherd, neither the sheep are his own, seeth the wolf coming, and he leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
13 So the hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
14 I am that good shepherd, and know mine, and am known of mine.
15 As the Father [h]knoweth me, so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for my sheep.
16 [i]Other sheep I have also, which are not of this fold: them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice: and (B)there shall be [j]one sheepfold, and one shepherd.
17 [k]Therefore doth my Father love me, because (C)[l]I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself: I have power to lay it down, and have power to take it again: this (D)commandment have I received of my Father.
19 ¶ [m]Then there was a dissension again among the Jews for these sayings.
20 And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad: why hear ye him?
21 Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil: can the devil open the eyes of the blind?
22 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the [n]Dedication, and it was winter.
23 [o]And Jesus walked in the Temple, in Solomon’s porch.
24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be that Christ, tell us plainly.
25 [p]Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believe not: the works that I do in my Father’s Name, they bear witness of me.
26 [q]But ye believe not: [r]for ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me,
28 And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of mine hand.
29 My Father which gave them me, is greater than all, and none is able to take them out of my Father’s hand.
30 I and my Father are one.
31 (E)[s]Then the Jews again took up stones, to stone him.
32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my [t]Father: for which of these works do ye stone me?
33 The Jews answered him, saying, For the good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and that thou being a man, makest thyself God.
34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your Law, (F)I said, Ye are gods?
35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God was given, and the Scripture cannot be [u]broken,
36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God?
37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
38 But if I do, then though ye believe not me, yet believe the works, that ye may know and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
39 [v]Again they went about to take him: but he escaped out of their hands,
40 And went again beyond Jordan, into the place where John first baptized, and there abode.
41 And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man, were true.
42 And many believed in him there.
Footnotes
- John 10:1 Seeing that by Christ only we have access to the Father, there are neither other true shepherds, than those which come to Christ themselves, and bring others thither also, neither is any to be thought the true sheepfold, but that which is gathered to Christ.
- John 10:3 In those days they used to have a servant always sitting at the door, and therefore he speaketh after the manner of those days.
- John 10:6 This word (parable) which the Evangelist useth here, signifieth a dark kind of speech, when words are taken from their natural meaning, to signify another thing to us.
- John 10:8 It maketh no matter, how many, neither how old the false teachers there have been.
- John 10:8 These large terms must be applied to the matter he speaketh of. And therefore when he calleth himself the door, he calleth all them thieves and robbers which take upon them this name of Door, which none of the Prophets can, for they showed the sheep, that Christ was the door.
- John 10:9 Only Christ is the true Pastor, and that only is the true Church, which acknowledgeth him to be properly their only Pastor: To him are opposite thieves which feed not the sheep, but kill them: and hirelings also, which forsake the flock in time of danger, because they feed it only for their own profit and gains.
- John 10:9 That is, shall live safely: so use the Jews to speak, as Deut. 26:6, and yet there is a peculiar alluding to the shepherd’s office.
- John 10:15 Loveth me, alloweth me.
- John 10:16 The calling of the Gentiles.
- John 10:16 The certain mark of the Catholic Church throughout all the world, which hath one head, that is Christ, the only keeper and only shepherd of it.
- John 10:17 Christ is by the decree of the Father, the only true shepherd of the true Church, for he willingly gave his life for his sheep, and by his own power rose again to life.
- John 10:17 He speaketh in the time that now is because Christ’s whole life was as it were a perpetual death.
- John 10:19 The Gospel discovereth hypocrisy, and therefore the world must needs rage when it cometh forth.
- John 10:22 The feast of the Dedication was instituted by Judas Maccabeus and his brethren, after the restoring of God’s true religion, by the casting out of Antiochus his garrison, 1 Macc. 4:59.
- John 10:23 The unbelievers and proud men accuse the Gospel of darkness, which darkness indeed is within themselves.
- John 10:25 The doctrine of the Gospel is proved from heaven by two witnesses: both by the purity of the doctrine, and by miracles.
- John 10:26 It is no marvel that there do but a few believe, seeing that all men are by nature untamed beasts: yet notwithstanding God hath his, which he turneth into sheep, and commiteth them unto his Son, and preserveth them against the cruelty of all wild beasts.
- John 10:26 He giveth a reason why they believed not, to wit, because they are none of his sheep.
- John 10:31 Christ proveth his dignity by divine works.
- John 10:32 Through my Father’s authority and power.
- John 10:35 Void and of none effect.
- John 10:39 Christ fleeth danger, not of mistrust, nor for fear of death, nor that he would be idle, but to gather a Church in another place.
John 10
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
10 1 Truly, truly, I say to you, the one not entering into the fold of the sheep through the door, but going-up from-another-place— that one is a thief and a robber. 2 But the One entering through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The doorkeeper opens to this One. And the sheep hear[a] His voice. And He calls His own sheep by name, and leads them out. 4 When He brings out all His own, He proceeds in front of them. And the sheep are following Him, because they know His voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers”. 6 Jesus spoke this figure-of-speech to them, but those ones did not understand what the things were which He was speaking to them.
I Am The Door of The Sheep. All Who Enter Through Me Will Be Saved
7 Then Jesus said again, “Truly, truly, I say to you that I am the door of [b] the sheep. 8 All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen-to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. And he will go in and go out, and he will find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except that he may steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have abundance[c].
I Am The Good Shepherd. All My Sheep Know Me. I Give My Life For Them
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays-down His life for the sheep. 12 The one being a hired one and not a shepherd, of whom the sheep are not his own— he sees the wolf coming and leaves[d] the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them, 13 because he is a hired one, and he is not concerned about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. And I know My sheep, and My sheep know Me— 15 just as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father. And I lay-down My life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold[e]. I must bring those also. And they[f] will hear My voice. And they will become one flock, [with] one Shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves Me— because I lay down My life so that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it away from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. I received this commandment from My Father”.
The Pharisees Remain Divided
19 A division again[g] took place among the Jews because of these words. 20 And many of them were saying, “He has a demon, and He is mad. Why are you listening-to Him?” 21 Others[h] were saying, “These words are not from one being demon-possessed. A demon is not able to open the eyes of blind ones, is he?”
During The Festival of Hanukkah, Jesus Says He And The Father Are One
22 Then the Festival-of-Dedication[i] took place in Jerusalem. It was winter. 23 And Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24 Then the Jews surrounded Him. And they were saying to Him, “How long are You keeping us in suspense[j]? If You are the Christ, tell us with plainness”. 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works which I am doing in the name of My Father— these are testifying about Me. 26 However, you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. 27 My sheep hear My voice. And I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, ever. And someone will not snatch them out of My hand. 29 What[k] My Father has given to Me is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of the hand of the Father. 30 I and the Father are one[l]”.
The Jewish Leaders Want To Kill Jesus For Blasphemy Because He Is Making Himself God
31 The Jews again carried stones in order that they might stone Him. 32 Jesus responded to them, “I showed you many good works from the Father. For which work of them do you stone Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, “We do not stone You for a good work, but for blasphemy— even because You, being a human, are making Yourself God”.
Jesus Responds: Saying “I Am God’s Son” Is Not Blasphemy If I Am Doing God’s Works
34 Jesus responded to them, “Has it not been written in your Law that ‘I said, you are gods[m]’? 35 If He[n] called those ones to whom the word of God came gods— and the Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you[o] say as to the One Whom the Father set-apart and sent-forth into the world that ‘You are blaspheming’ because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 If I am not doing the works of My Father, do not be believing Me. 38 But if I am doing them— even if you do not believe Me, be believing the works, in order that you may come-to-know and be understanding[p] that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father”. 39 Then they were seeking again to seize Him, and He went out of their hand.
Jesus Leaves Judea
40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan, to the place where John was first baptizing. And He was staying there. 41 And many came to Him, and were saying that “John did no sign— but all that John said about this One was true”. 42 And many believed in Him there.
Footnotes
- John 10:3 That is, listen to and obey. The blind man is the specific example in view, v 38.
- John 10:7 That is, to; or, for.
- John 10:10 Or, excess, overflow, surplus. That is, have an overflowing spiritual life abounding to others (as in 7:38), not mere existence. Jesus is referring to an abundance of ‘real’ life, 1 Tim 6:19.
- John 10:12 Or more strongly, abandons.
- John 10:16 Jesus may mean the Jewish fold, making the ones in view the Gentiles; or, the nation-of-Israel fold, making the ones in view the ‘children of God scattered’ outside Israel, Jews and Gentiles, 11:52.
- John 10:16 That is, all My sheep from both folds.
- John 10:19 See 9:16.
- John 10:21 So the case of the man born blind (9:1-10:21) comes down to this: Is Jesus empowered by God or Satan?
- John 10:22 That is, Hanukkah, the Feast of Lights, commemorating the rededication of the temple by Judas Maccabaeus in 165 b.c. after it had been desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes.
- John 10:24 keeping us in suspense. Lit, lifting-up our soul [in suspense or anticipation].
- John 10:29 Or, That-which. Jesus may be referring to the flock itself viewed as an abstract whole; or, to His ‘authority over all flesh to give eternal life’ (17:2), making what follows ‘snatch it’. In either case, both the Father and the Son ensure the safety of the flock.
- John 10:30 That is, one in will and action. Jesus is claiming a oneness He shares with God because He is His Son (v 36) and therefore shares the essence or substance of His Father. Jesus is claiming to be acting as God and thus to be God, to which His listeners respond next.
- John 10:34 Jesus is quoting Ps 82:6, where the psalmist calls the judges of Israel gods (in authority over the people) because they carried out divine justice.
- John 10:35 Or, he (the psalmist); or, it (the Scripture).
- John 10:36 If God in Scripture called those judges gods, does this term not even more apply to Me, based on My works alone? Jesus is arguing from the lesser to the greater.
- John 10:38 Or, acknowledging.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
