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John 10
Lexham English Bible

Jesus as the Good Shepherd

10 “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter through the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up at some other place—that one is a thief and a robber. 2 But the one who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 For this one the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 Whenever he sends out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 And they will never follow a stranger, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus told them this parable, but they did not understand what it was that he was saying to them.

7 Then Jesus said to them[a] again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All those who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep do not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and will go out and will find pasture. 10 The thief comes only[b] so that he can steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and have it[c] abundantly.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf approaching and abandons the sheep and runs away—and the wolf seizes them and scatters them[d]— 13 because he is a hired hand and he is not concerned[e] about the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd, and 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 my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep which are not from this fold. I must bring these also, and they will hear my voice, and they will become one flock—one shepherd. 17 Because of this the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take possession of it again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down voluntarily.[f] I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take possession of it again. This commandment I received from my Father.”

19 Again there was a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 And many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is out of his mind! Why do you listen to him?” 21 Others were saying, “These are not the words of one who is possessed by a demon! A demon is not able to open the eyes of the blind, is it?”[g]

Jesus at the Feast of the Dedication

22 Then the feast of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple in the Portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews surrounded him and began to say[h] to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense?[i] If you are the Christ, tell us plainly!” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe! The deeds that I do in the name of my Father, these testify about me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of my sheep! 27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they will never perish forever,[j] and no one will seize them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them[k] to me, is greater than all, and no one can seize them[l] from the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”

31 Then[m] the Jews picked up stones again so that they could stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good deeds from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “We are not going to stone you concerning a good deed, but concerning blasphemy, and because you, although you[n] are a man, make yourself to be God!” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’?[o] 35 If he called them ‘gods’ to whom the word of God came—and the scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say about he whom the Father set apart and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I do not do the deeds of my Father, do not believe me. 38 But if I am doing them,[p] even if you do not believe me, believe the deeds, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 So they were seeking again to seize him, and he departed out of their hand.

40 And he went away again on the other side of the Jordan, to the place where John was baptizing at an earlier time, and he stayed there. 41 And many came to him and began to say,[q] “John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true!” 42 And many believed in him there.

Footnotes

  1. John 10:7 Some manuscripts omit “to them”
  2. John 10:10 Literally “does not come except”
  3. John 10:10 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  4. John 10:12 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  5. John 10:13 Literally “it is not a concern to him”
  6. John 10:18 Literally “from myself”
  7. John 10:21 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase “is it”
  8. John 10:24 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to say”)
  9. John 10:24 Literally “until when will you take away our life”
  10. John 10:28 Literally “for the age”
  11. John 10:29 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  12. John 10:29 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  13. John 10:31 Some manuscripts omit “Then”
  14. John 10:33 Here “although” is supplied as a component of the participle (“are”) which is understood as concessive
  15. John 10:34 A quotation from Ps 82:6 (in common usage “law” could refer to the entire Old Testament)
  16. John 10:38 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  17. John 10:41 *The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to say”)
Close NLT

John 10
New Living Translation

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

10 “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! 2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

6 Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, 7 so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me[a] were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. 9 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved.[b] They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.

17 “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. 18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”

19 When he said these things, the people[c] were again divided in their opinions about him. 20 Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?” 21 Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Jesus Claims to Be the Son of God

22 It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. 23 He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The people surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

25 Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. 26 But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else.[d] No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”

31 Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. 32 Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?”

33 They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.”

34 Jesus replied, “It is written in your own Scriptures[e] that God said to certain leaders of the people, ‘I say, you are gods!’[f] 35 And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God’s message were called ‘gods,’ 36 why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world. 37 Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work. 38 But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.”

39 Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them. 40 He went beyond the Jordan River near the place where John was first baptizing and stayed there awhile. 41 And many followed him. “John didn’t perform miraculous signs,” they remarked to one another, “but everything he said about this man has come true.” 42 And many who were there believed in Jesus.

Footnotes

  1. 10:8 Some manuscripts do not include before me.
  2. 10:9 Or will find safety.
  3. 10:19 Greek Jewish people; also in 10:24, 31.
  4. 10:29 Other manuscripts read for what my Father has given me is more powerful than anything; still others read for regarding that which my Father has given me, he is greater than all.
  5. 10:34a Greek your own law.
  6. 10:34b Ps 82:6.
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Lexham English Bible (LEB)

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New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.