The Parable of the Lost Sheep^(A)

15 Now the tax collectors^(B) and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”^(C)

³ Then Jesus told them this parable:^{(D) 4} “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?^{(E) 5} And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’^{(F) 7} I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.^(G)

² The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.^{(A) 3} The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.^(B) He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.^{(C) 4} When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.^{(D) 5} But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

¹¹ “I am^(A) the good shepherd.^(B) The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.^{(C) 12} The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.^(D) Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd;^(E) I know my sheep^(F) and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father^(G)—and I lay down my life for the sheep.^(H)