Luke 15:1-7

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

1 Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were drawing near to hear him.

2 And both the Pharisees and the scribes were complaining, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them!"

3 So he told them this parable, saying,

4 "What man of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the grassland and go after the one that was lost until he finds it?

5 And [when he] has found [it], he places [it] on his shoulders, rejoicing.

6 And [when he] returns to [his] home, he calls together [his] friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that 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 people who have no need of repentance.

Footnotes

• [a] *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("has found") which is understood as temporal
• [b] *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [c] *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [d] *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("returns") which is understood as temporal
• [e] *Literally "the"; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
• [f] *Literally "the"; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun