The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 Now all the ^(A)tax collectors and the ^[a]sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. ² And both the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling, saying, “This man receives sinners and ^(B)eats with them.”

³ So He told them this parable, saying, ⁴ “^(C)What man among you, if he has one hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the ^[b]open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.