John 10:1-16

Parable of the Good Shepherd

1 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is ¹a thief and a robber.

2 "But he who enters by the door is ²a shepherd of the sheep.

3 "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear ³his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and ⁴leads them out.

4 "When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know ⁵his voice.

5 "A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know ⁶the voice of strangers."

6 This ⁷figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.

7 So Jesus said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am ⁸the door of the sheep.

8 "All who came before Me are ⁹thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.

9 "¹⁰I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go * in and out and find pasture.

10 "The thief comes only * * to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they ¹¹may have life, and have it abundantly.

11 "¹²I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd ¹³lays down His life for the sheep.

12 "He who is a hired hand, and not a ¹⁴shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

13 "He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.

14 "¹⁵I am the good shepherd, and ¹⁶I know My own and My own know Me,

15 even as ¹⁷the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and ¹⁸I lay down My life for the sheep.

16 "I have ¹⁹other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become ²⁰one flock with ²¹one shepherd.

Cross References

• 1. John 10:8
• 2. John 10:11
• 3. John 10:4f, 16, 27
• 4. John 10:9
• 5. John 10:5, 16, 27
• 6. John 10:4, 16, 27
• 7. John 16:25, 29; 2 Peter 2:22
• 8. John 10:1f, 9
• 9. Jeremiah 23:1; Ezekiel 34:2f; John 10:1
• 10. John 10:1f, 9
• 11. John 5:40
• 12. Isaiah 40:11; Ezek 34:11-16, 23; John 10:14; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 5:4; Revelation 7:17
• 13. John 10:15, 17, 18; John 15:13; 1 John 3:16
• 14. John 10:2
• 15. John 10:11
• 16. John 10:27
• 17. Matthew 11:27; Luke 10:22
• 18. John 10:11, 17, 18
• 19. Isaiah 56:8
• 20. John 11:52; John 17:20; Ephesians 2:13-18; 1 Peter 2:25
• 21. Ezekiel 34:23; Ezekiel 37:24

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "have abundance"