John 10
Tree of Life Version
The Faithful Hear the Shepherd’s Voice
10 “Amen, amen I tell you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice. The shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 “When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them; and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Yeshua told them this parable, but they did not understand what He was telling them.
7 So Yeshua said again, “Amen, amen I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All those who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate![a] If anyone comes in through Me, he will be saved. He will come and go and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly!
11 “I am the Good Shepherd.[b] The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12 The hired worker is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. He sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and flees. Then the wolf snatches and scatters the sheep. 13 The man is only a hired hand and does not care about the sheep.
14 “I am 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 My life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not from this fold; those also I must lead, and they will listen to My voice. So there shall be one flock, 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 on My own. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”
19 Again a division arose among the Judeans because of these words. 20 Many of them were saying, “He has a demon. He’s insane! Why listen to Him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the sayings of someone who is plagued by a demon. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can it?”
Some Despise the Light and Harden
22 Then came Hanukkah;[c] it was winter in Jerusalem. 23 Yeshua was walking in the Temple around Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 Then the Judean leaders surrounded Him, saying, “How long will You hold us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, tell us outright!”
25 Yeshua answered them, “I told you, but you don’t believe! The works I do in My Father’s name testify concerning Me. 26 But you don’t believe, because you are not My sheep. 27 My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. 28 I give them eternal life! They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 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 I and the Father are one.”
31 Again the Judean leaders picked up stones to stone Him. 32 Yeshua answered them, “I’ve shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone Me?”
33 The Judean leaders answered, “We aren’t stoning you for a good work, but for blasphemy. Though You are a man, You make Yourself God!”
34 Yeshua answered them, “Isn’t it written in your Writings,[d] ‘I have said you are gods’? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the Word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36 do you say of Him, the One the Father set apart and sent into the world, ‘You speak blasphemy,’ because I said, ‘I am Ben-Elohim’?
37 “If I don’t do the works of My Father, don’t believe Me! 38 But if I do, even if you don’t trust Me, trust the deeds. Then you may come to know and continue to understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father.” 39 Therefore they tried to capture Him again, but He escaped from their hand.
40 Again He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first started immersing, and He stayed there. 41 Many people came to Him and were saying, “John performed no sign, but all John said about this man was true.” 42 And many trusted in Him there.
Footnotes
- John 10:9 Or door.
- John 10:11 cf. Gen. 48:15; Ps. 23; Ezek. 37:24.
- John 10:22 Lit. Rededication.
- John 10:34 Lit. Law, here applied to the Torah, Prophets, and Writings; quote is from Ps. 82:6.
John 10
New Catholic Bible
The Shepherd Who Gives Up His Life[a]
I Am the Good Shepherd[b]
Chapter 10
The Good Shepherd
1 “Amen, amen, I say to you,
anyone who does not enter
the sheepfold through the gate
but climbs in some other way
is a thief and a bandit.
2 The one who enters through the gate
is the shepherd of the flock.
3 The gatekeeper opens for him,
and the sheep hear his voice.
He calls his own sheep by name
and leads them out.
4 “When he has brought out all his own,
he goes on ahead of them,
and the sheep follow him
because they know his voice.
5 However, they will never follow a stranger.
Rather, they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize
the voice of strangers.”
6 Jesus used this parable to instruct them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 7 Therefore, Jesus spoke to them again,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate of the sheepfold.
8 All who came before me
were thieves and bandits,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 “I am the gate.
Anyone who enters through me
will be saved.
He will go in and out
and will find pasture.
10 “A thief comes only
to steal and kill and destroy.
I have come
that they may have life,
and have it in abundance.
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
nor the owner of the sheep,
sees the wolf approaching,
and he leaves the sheep and runs away,
while the wolf catches and scatters them.
13 He runs away
because he is only a hired hand
and he has no concern for the sheep.
14 “I am 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 my life for the sheep.
16 “I have other sheep too
that do not belong to this fold.
I must lead them as well,
and they will hear my voice.
Thus, there will only be one flock,
one shepherd.
17 “This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life
in order to take it up again.
18 No one takes it away from me.
I lay it down of my own free will.
And as I have the power to lay it down,
I have the power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father.”
19 Once again, these words provoked a division among the Jews. 20 Many of them were saying, “He is possessed and out of his mind. Why should we listen to him?” 21 But others said, “No one possessed by a demon could speak like this. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”[c]
I and the Father Are One
22 Feast of the Dedication.[d] At that time, the feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple along the Portico of Solomon.[e] 24 The Jews gathered around him and asked, “How much longer will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus replied,
“I have told you,
but you do not believe.
The works that I do in my Father’s name
bear witness to me,
26 but you do not believe
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 will ever snatch them from my hand.
29 My Father who has given them to me
is greater than all,
and no one can snatch them
out of the Father’s hand.
30 I and the Father are one.”[f]
31 Once again, the Jews picked up rocks to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have performed in your presence many good works from my Father. For which of these works are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered, “We are not going to stone you for any good work you have done, but for blasphemy. Even though you are a man, you are claiming to be God.” 34 Jesus replied,
“Is it not written in your Law,[g]
‘I said: You are gods’?
35 If those to whom
the word of God was addressed
are called ‘gods’
—and Scripture cannot be set aside—
36 how can you say, ‘You blaspheme,’
to the one whom the Father has consecrated
and sent into the world
for saying, ‘I am the Son of God’?
37 “If I am not performing
the works of my Father,
then do not believe me.
38 However, if I am doing them,
then even if you do not believe me,
at least believe my works,
so that you may realize and understand
that the Father is in me
and I am in the Father.”
39 They again tried to seize him, but he escaped from their clutches.
40 The Testimony of John the Baptist.[h] He went back across the Jordan to the place where John had first been baptizing, and he remained there. 41 Many people came to him, and they were saying, “John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And many there came to believe in him.
Footnotes
- John 10:1 The parable of the good shepherd, the feast of the Dedication, and the raising of Lazarus are three passages that describe who Christ is and what he wants to be for us. The ideas of life and unity dominate in these pages. The desire of Jesus is that we have access to the full reality of life. He gives life to the point of giving up his own; he is the life.
Another preoccupation impels him: to gather into one all who believe in him. So the work of God is to overcome the forces of death, destruction, and dispersion, forces that disfigure the world and our existence. - John 10:1 The image of the flock and the shepherd occurs frequently in the Bible to describe the relationship of Israel with God, or simply the relations of the people with their leader (this language came spontaneously to any civilization of antiquity). More than once the Prophets denounced as wicked shepherds those in authority who exploited the people or led them astray: kings, princes, priests, prophets of comfort (see Jer 23; Ezek 34; Zec 11:4-17). In the final analysis (they said), God alone is the shepherd to whom the flock belongs and who can properly lead and feed it. They were longing for a devoted shepherd who would act solely in God’s name.
Jesus now dares to describe himself as this Messiah-shepherd, who comes to deliver human beings from those who enslave them for their own profit or to impose upon them their own convictions. There are no other ways of reaching life and the knowledge of God: Jesus is the “gate”; he is the Shepherd who knows and gathers believers into a single flock. The word “know” signifies a mutual exchange, a reciprocal and radical belonging. This is the main assertion of the passage. - John 10:21 This is a reference to the incident of the man born blind (in the preceding chapter).
- John 10:22 In the fourth Gospel, the trial of Jesus takes place throughout the book, and on each occasion the Lord asserts his oneness with the Father in unequivocal terms. Here we have a new disagreement, connected with the feast of the Dedication of the temple, which was celebrated toward the end of December. It commemorated the historical fact that in 165 B.C. Judas Maccabeus wrested the temple from the pagan king who had profaned it by installing an idol in it. It was thus a celebration of the liberation, purification, and restoration of the holy place and of its worship (see 1 Mac 4:36-39; 2 Mac 1:9-18; 10:1-8).
- John 10:23 Portico of Solomon: located on the east side of the temple, and thus sheltered against the winds from the wilderness.
- John 10:30 I and the Father are one: this is the most solemn declaration of the passage. Jesus expresses his perfect unity with the Father (literally, “one thing”), so that his power is identified with that of the Father. Trinitarian theology takes its start from this verse. For here Jesus affirms in peremptory fashion his identity of operation and will with the Father. This is clear from the violent reaction of the Jews, who seek to stone him because he is guilty of blasphemy.
- John 10:34 Your Law: the term Law usually meant the Pentateuch, but it was also used in the sense of the whole Old Testament—as it is in this case. You are gods: these words from Ps 82:6 referred to the judges (as well as other leaders or rulers) of Israel whose tasks were appointed by God (see Ex 22:28; Deut 1:17; 16:18; 2 Chr 19:6).
- John 10:40 The testimony of John the Baptist is recalled: the Prophet announced a Messiah whose dignity and power were superhuman (see Jn 1:26-34).
John 10
EasyEnglish Bible
The story about the shepherd
10 Jesus then said, ‘I tell you this: A shepherd keeps his sheep in a safe place with a wall round it. There is a gate into that safe place. Anyone who gets into that place by another way, not through the gate, is not the shepherd. That person is a robber. He comes to take away the sheep for himself. 2 But the shepherd goes in through the gate. 3 The person who watches the gate opens it for the shepherd. The sheep recognize the shepherd's voice. He calls each of his own sheep by their name and he leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own sheep, he goes in front of them. The sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger. They will run away from a stranger because they do not recognize his voice.’
6 Jesus told this story like a picture to teach the people. But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
Jesus is like the good shepherd
7 So Jesus spoke again. He said, ‘I tell you this: I am like the gate for the sheep. 8 All other men who came before me were like robbers.[a] But the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am like the gate. Everyone who comes in through me will be safe. They will be free to come in and to go out. And they will find plenty of food. 10 The robber only wants to take away my sheep. He wants to kill them. He comes only to destroy them. But I have come so that they can have true life. And so that they can have everything that they need.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd would die so that he can save his sheep. 12 Another man may take care of sheep so that he gets money. But the sheep do not belong to him. A man like that is not the shepherd. If a wolf comes, a man like that runs away when he sees it. He leaves the sheep in danger. Then the wolf attacks the sheep. It causes them to run away in all directions. 13 That man runs away because the sheep do not belong to him. He does not think that the sheep are important.
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep, and they know me. 15 I know them in the same way that my Father knows me. And they know me in the same way that I know the Father. I will die so that I can save my sheep. 16 I also have other sheep, and I must bring them too. They do not belong to this group of sheep. But they also will listen to my voice. So all the sheep will become one group, and they will have one shepherd. 17 The Father loves me because I choose to die for my sheep. But after I give my life like that, I will become alive again. 18 Nobody can take my life away from me. Instead, I myself can choose to die. I have authority to do that. I also have authority to become alive again. My Father has said that I must do that.’
19 Again, the Jews could not agree about these things that Jesus said. 20 Many of them said, ‘He has a demon in him and he is crazy. You should not listen to him!’ 21 But other people said, ‘A man with a demon in him could not teach like this! A demon could not make blind people able to see!’
The Jewish leaders do not believe in Jesus
22 It was the time for the Jewish Festival called Hanukkah.[b] This happened in Jerusalem. It was winter.
23 Jesus was walking in the yard of the temple, under a place with a roof. The place was called Solomon's porch. 24 The Jewish leaders stood around him. They said to him, ‘We want to know who you are. When will you tell us? If you are the Messiah, tell us clearly.’ 25 Jesus answered, ‘I have already told you, but you do not believe. The things that I do by my Father's authority show you who I am. 26 But you refuse to believe, because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep recognize my voice. I know them and they follow me. 28 I give them life for ever with God. They will never die. Nobody can ever take them away from me. 29 My Father has given them to me. He is greater than all things. Nobody can ever take my sheep out of my Father's hand. 30 My Father and I are one.’
31 Then the Jewish leaders picked up stones again to throw at Jesus so that they could kill him. 32 Jesus said to them, ‘I have done many good things. The Father sent me to do them, and I have shown them to you. Which of those good things make you want to kill me with stones?’ 33 The Jewish leaders answered, ‘We do not want to kill you because of any good things that you have done. We want to kill you because you are speaking against God. You are only a man, but you are saying that you are God.’
34 Jesus answered them, ‘It is written in your own books of God's Law that God said, “You are gods.”[c] 35 God called the people to whom he spoke “gods”. And you know that the Bible always remains true. 36 So, when I said that I am God's Son, why am I wrong? The Father chose me for himself. And he sent me into the world. So you should not say that I am speaking bad things against God. 37 If I am not doing my Father's work, do not believe me. 38 But if I am doing his work, you should believe that work. Even if you do not believe me, you should believe the things that I do. Then you will know certainly that the Father is in me. And you will know that I am in the Father.’
39 Again, the Jewish leaders tried to take hold of Jesus. But he escaped from them.
40 After that, Jesus returned across the Jordan River. He went to the place where John had earlier baptized people. Jesus stayed there. 41 Many people came to him. They said to each other, ‘John did not do any miracles. But everything that he said about this man was true.’ 42 So, in that place, many people believed in Jesus.
Footnotes
- 10:8 These men were leaders who said that they wanted to take care of God's people. But they did not really help the people. Instead they hurt them, like robbers.
- 10:22 At the Festival called Hanukkah, Israel's people remembered a special time, 165 years before Jesus came to the earth. A foreign ruler had come to Jerusalem. He had put false gods in the temple in Jerusalem. But some of Israel's people attacked that ruler and they sent him away. Then they made the temple clean again so that they could worship the one true God there.
- 10:34 See Psalms 82:6.
John 10
World English Bible
10 “Most certainly, I tell you, one who doesn’t enter by the door into the sheep fold, but climbs up some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 But one who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they don’t know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus spoke this parable to them, but they didn’t understand what he was telling them.
7 Jesus therefore said to them again, “Most certainly, I tell you, I am the sheep’s door. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out and will find pasture. 10 The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
11 “I am the good shepherd.(A) The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hired hand flees because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own; 15 even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep which are not of this fold.(B) I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd. 17 Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, (C) that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down by myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. I received this commandment from my Father.”
19 Therefore a division arose again among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon and is insane! Why do you listen to him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the sayings of one possessed by a demon. It isn’t possible for a demon to open the eyes of the blind, is it?”(D)
22 It was the Feast of the Dedication[a] at Jerusalem. 23 It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. 24 The Jews therefore came around him and said to him, “How long will you hold us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you don’t believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name, these testify about me. 26 But you don’t believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 Therefore the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?”
33 The Jews answered him, “We don’t stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
34 Jesus answered them, “Isn’t it written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’?(E) 35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture can’t be broken), 36 do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I don’t do the works of my Father, don’t believe me. 38 But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
39 They sought again to seize him, and he went out of their hand. 40 He went away again beyond the Jordan into the place where John was baptizing at first, and he stayed there. 41 Many came to him. They said, “John indeed did no sign, but everything that John said about this man is true.” 42 Many believed in him there.
Footnotes
- 10:22 The “Feast of the Dedication” is the Greek name for “Hanukkah”, a celebration of the rededication of the Temple.
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