John 10
10
The Good Shepherd
1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 6This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
7Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 17Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
19There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. 20And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?
21Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?
The Feast of the Dedication
22And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. 23And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. 24Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. 25Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. 26But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 30I and my Father are one.
31Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. 34Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 36say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? 37If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. 38But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
39Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand, 40and went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode. 41And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true. 42And many believed on him there.
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John 10: KJV
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Rights in the Authorized (King James) Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Published by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
Learn More About King James VersionJohn 10
10
Jesus, the Good Shepherd
1“I can guarantee this truth: The person who doesn’t enter the sheep pen through the gate but climbs in somewhere else is a thief or a robber. 2But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd. 3The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep respond to his voice. He calls his sheep by name and leads them out of the pen. 4After he has brought out all his sheep, he walks ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. 5They won’t follow a stranger. Instead, they will run away from a stranger because they don’t recognize his voice.” 6Jesus used this illustration as he talked to the people, but they didn’t understand what he meant.
7Jesus emphasized, “I can guarantee this truth: I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who came before I did were thieves or robbers. However, the sheep didn’t respond to them. 9I am the gate. Those who enter the sheep pen through me will be saved. They will go in and out of the sheep pen and find food. 10A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came so that my sheep will have life and so that they will have everything they need.
11“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. 12A hired hand isn’t a shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep. When he sees a wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and quickly runs away. So the wolf drags the sheep away and scatters the flock. 13The hired hand is concerned about what he’s going to get paid and not about the sheep.
14“I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep as the Father knows me.#10:14 The first part of verse 15 (in Greek) has been moved to verse 14 to express the complex Greek sentence structure more clearly in English. My sheep know me as I know the Father. 15So I give my life for my sheep. 16I also have other sheep that are not from this pen. I must lead them. They, too, will respond to my voice. So they will be one flock with one shepherd. 17The Father loves me because I give my life in order to take it back again. 18No one takes my life from me. I give my life of my own free will. I have the authority to give my life, and I have the authority to take my life back again. This is what my Father ordered me to do.”
19The Jews were divided because of what Jesus said. 20Many of them said, “He’s possessed by a demon! He’s crazy! Why do you listen to him?” 21Others said, “No one talks like this if he’s possessed by a demon. Can a demon give sight to the blind?”
The Jews Reject Jesus
22The Festival of the Dedication of the Temple took place in Jerusalem during the winter. 23Jesus was walking on Solomon’s porch in the temple courtyard.
24The Jews surrounded him. They asked him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
25Jesus answered them, “I’ve told you, but you don’t believe me. The things that I do in my Father’s name testify on my behalf. 26However, you don’t believe because you’re not my sheep. 27My sheep respond to my voice, and I know who they are. They follow me, 28and I give them eternal life. They will never be lost, and no one will tear them away from me. 29My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than everyone else, and no one can tear them away from my Father. 30The Father and I are one.”
31The Jews had again brought some rocks to stone Jesus to death. 32Jesus replied to them, “I’ve shown you many good things that come from the Father. For which of these good things do you want to stone me to death?”
33The Jews answered Jesus, “We’re going to stone you to death, not for any good things you’ve done, but for dishonoring God. You claim to be God, although you’re only a man.”
34Jesus said to them, “Don’t your Scriptures say, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’? 35The Scriptures cannot be discredited. So if God calls people gods (and they are the people to whom he gave the Scriptures), 36why do you say that I’m dishonoring God because I said, ‘I’m the Son of God’? God set me apart for this holy purpose and has sent me into the world. 37If I’m not doing the things my Father does, don’t believe me. 38But if I’m doing those things and you refuse to believe me, then at least believe the things that I’m doing. Then you will know and recognize that the Father is in me and that I am in the Father.”
39The Jews tried to arrest Jesus again, but he got away from them. 40He went back across the Jordan River and stayed in the place where John first baptized people.
41Many people went to Jesus. They said, “John didn’t perform any miracles, but everything John said about this man is true.” 42Many people there believed in Jesus.
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