Ninety-nine Plus One

12 “What do you think? (A)If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost? 13 And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray. 14 So it is not the will [a]of your Father who is in heaven for one of these little ones to perish.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 18:14 Lit before

12 What do you think? If someone[a] owns a hundred[b] sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray?[c] 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth,[d] he will rejoice more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones be lost.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 18:12 tn Grk “a certain man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used here in a somewhat generic sense.
  2. Matthew 18:12 sn This individual with a hundred sheep is a shepherd of modest means, as flocks often had up to two hundred head of sheep.
  3. Matthew 18:12 sn Look for the one that went astray. The parable pictures God’s pursuit of the sinner. On the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, see John 10:1-18.
  4. Matthew 18:13 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”