John 10
New American Standard Bible
Parable of the Good Shepherd
10 “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is (A)a thief and a robber. 2 But the one who enters by the door is (B)a shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep listen to (C)his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and (D)leads them out. 4 When he puts all his own sheep outside, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know (E)his voice. 5 However, a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know (F)the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus told them this (G)figure of speech, but they did not understand what the things which He was saying to them [a]meant.
7 So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly I say to you, I am (H)the door of the sheep. 8 All those who came before Me are (I)thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 (J)I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they (K)would have life, and [b]have it abundantly.
11 “(L)I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd (M)lays down His life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand, and not a (N)shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters the flock. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and does not care about the sheep. 14 (O)I am the good shepherd, and (P)I know My own, and My own know Me, 15 just as (Q)the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and (R)I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And I have (S)other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become (T)one flock, with (U)one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I (V)lay down My life so that I may take it back. 18 (W)No one has taken it away from Me, but I (X)lay it down on My own. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back. (Y)This commandment I received from My Father.”
19 (Z)Dissension occurred again among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them were saying, “He (AA)has a demon and (AB)is insane. Why do you listen to Him?” 21 Others were saying, “These are not the words of one who is (AC)demon-possessed. (AD)A demon cannot open the eyes of those who are blind, can it?”
Jesus Asserts His Deity
22 At that time the [c]Feast of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem; 23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple area, in the portico of (AE)Solomon. 24 (AF)The Jews then surrounded Him and began saying to Him, “How long [d]will You keep us in suspense? If You are the [e]Christ, tell us (AG)plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “(AH)I told you, and you do not believe; (AI)the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because (AJ)you are not of My sheep. 27 My sheep (AK)listen to My voice, and (AL)I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give them (AM)eternal life, and they will never perish; and (AN)no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 [f]My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 (AO)I and the Father are [g]one.”
31 The Jews (AP)picked up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus replied to them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, “We are not stoning You for a good work, but for (AQ)blasphemy; and because You, being a man, (AR)make Yourself out to be God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in (AS)your (AT)Law: ‘(AU)I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be nullified), 36 are you saying of Him whom the Father (AV)sanctified and (AW)sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘(AX)I am the Son of God’? 37 (AY)If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, believe (AZ)the works, so that you may [h]know and understand that (BA)the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” 39 Therefore (BB)they were seeking again to arrest Him, and (BC)He eluded their grasp.
40 And He went away (BD)again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He stayed there. 41 Many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no (BE)sign, yet (BF)everything John said about this man was true.” 42 And (BG)many believed in Him there.
Footnotes
- John 10:6 Lit were
- John 10:10 Or have abundance
- John 10:22 Now known as Hanukkah, also the Feast of Lights
- John 10:24 Lit do You lift up our soul
- John 10:24 I.e., Messiah
- John 10:29 One early ms What My Father has given Me is greater than all
- John 10:30 Or a unity; or one essence
- John 10:38 Lit know and continue knowing
John 10
International Standard Version
The Illustration of the Sheepfold
10 “Truly, I tell all of you[a] emphatically, the person who doesn’t enter the sheepfold through the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 It’s to him the gatekeeper opens the gate, and it’s his voice the sheep hear. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has driven out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. 5 They’ll never follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they don’t recognize the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus used this illustration with them, but they didn’t understand what he was saying to them.
Jesus the Good Shepherd
7 So again Jesus said, “Truly, I tell all of you[b] emphatically, I’m the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me[c] are thieves and bandits, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. 9 I’m the gate. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved. He’ll come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I’ve come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
11 “I’m the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down[d] his life for the sheep. 12 The hired worker, who isn’t the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them, 13 because he’s a hired worker, and the sheep don’t matter to him.
14 I’m the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down[e] my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that don’t belong to this fold. I must lead these also, and they’ll listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd. 17 This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it back again. 18 No one is taking it from me; I lay it down of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This is what my Father has commanded me.”
19 Once again there was a division among the Jews[f] because of what Jesus had been saying. 20 Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why bother listening to him?”
21 Others were saying, “These are not the words of a man who is demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can it?”
Jesus is Rejected by the Jews
22 Now[g] Hanukkah[h] was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking around in the Temple inside the open porch of Solomon. 24 So the Jewish leaders[i] surrounded him and quizzed him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you’re the Messiah,[j] tell us so plainly.”
25 Jesus answered them, “I have told you, but you don’t believe it. The actions that I do in my Father’s name testify on my behalf, 26 but you don’t believe, because you don’t belong to my sheep.[k] 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, they’ll never be lost, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me[l] is more important than anything,[m] and no one can snatch it from the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 Again the Jewish leaders[n] picked up stones to stone him to death.
32 Jesus replied to them, “I’ve shown you many good actions from my[o] Father. For which of them are you going to stone me?”
33 The Jewish leaders[p] answered him, “We are not going to stone you for a good action, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, are making yourself God!”
34 Jesus replied to them, “Is it not written in your[q] Law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’?[r] 35 If he called those to whom a message from God came ‘gods’ (and the Scripture cannot be disregarded), 36 how can you say to the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You’re blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I’m the Son of God’? 37 If I’m not doing my Father’s actions, don’t believe me. 38 But if I’m doing them, even though you don’t believe me, believe the actions, so that you may know and understand[s] that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
39 Again they tried to seize him, but he slipped away from them.[t] 40 Then he went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and he remained there. 41 Many people came to him and kept saying, “John never performed a sign, but everything that John said about this man is true!” 42 And many believed in Jesus[u] there.
Footnotes
- John 10:1 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
- John 10:7 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
- John 10:8 Other mss. lack before me
- John 10:11 Other mss. read gives
- John 10:15 Other mss. read give
- John 10:19 I.e. Judean leaders
- John 10:22 Other mss. read Then
- John 10:22 Or the Festival of Dedication
- John 10:24 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
- John 10:24 Or Christ
- John 10:26 Other mss. read my sheep, just as I told you
- John 10:29 Some MSS read My father, who gave them to me,
- John 10:29 Or is greater than everything else
- John 10:31 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. the Jews
- John 10:32 Other mss. read the
- John 10:33 I.e. Judean leaders; lit. The Jews
- John 10:34 Other mss. read the
- John 10:34 Cf. Ps 82:6
- John 10:38 Other mss. read believe
- John 10:39 Lit. away out of their hands
- John 10:42 Lit. him
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