1
Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὁ μὴ εἰσερχόμενος διὰ τῆς θύρας εἰς τὴν αὐλὴν τῶν προβάτων ἀλλὰ ἀναβαίνων ἀλλαχόθεν ἐκεῖνος κλέπτης ἐστὶν καὶ λῃστής·
“Amen, amen, I say to you, the one not entering by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbing in another way, that one is a thief and a robber.
2
ὁ δὲ εἰσερχόμενος διὰ τῆς θύρας ποιμήν ἐστιν τῶν προβάτων.
But the one entering by the door is shepherd of the sheep.
3
τούτῳ ὁ θυρωρὸς ἀνοίγει, καὶ τὰ πρόβατα τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούει καὶ τὰ ἴδια πρόβατα ⸀φωνεῖ κατ’ ὄνομα καὶ ἐξάγει αὐτά.
To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4
⸀ὅταν τὰ ἴδια ⸀πάντα ἐκβάλῃ, ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν πορεύεται, καὶ τὰ πρόβατα αὐτῷ ἀκολουθεῖ, ὅτι οἴδασιν τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ·
When he has put out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.
5
ἀλλοτρίῳ δὲ οὐ μὴ ⸀ἀκολουθήσουσιν ἀλλὰ φεύξονται ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδασι τῶν ἀλλοτρίων τὴν φωνήν.
But a stranger they will never follow; rather they will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”
6
ταύτην τὴν παροιμίαν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· ἐκεῖνοι δὲ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τίνα ⸀ἦν ἃ ἐλάλει αὐτοῖς.
Jesus spoke this figure to them, but they did not know what it was that he was saying to them.
Why this rendering
John.10.6 Observation
Syntactic observation
παροιμία occurs four times in John — at 10:6 and at 16:25 (twice) and 16:29. **παραβολή does not occur once in all twenty-one chapters of John.** This can be checked directly in our morphological data. The word the Synoptics use for Jesus' parables is one John does not use; he uses another. παροιμία lies nearer to a saying that goes by an indirect route — a proverb or a riddle — and the verse goes on to say they did not understand it. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀ἦν).
Rendering options · 2
Jesus spoke this parable to them
Basis Uses the settled rendering, parable.
Rejected Parable is the settled rendering of παραβολή, **and John never uses that word.** Rendering it so puts back the category John avoided, and it also hides that 10:6 and 16:25 share one word.
Adopted Jesus spoke this figure to them, but they did not know what it was that he was saying to them.
Basis Keeps it apart from the rendering of παραβολή so that John's choice of a different word survives in translation. The figure of speech of NASB, ESV and NIV, the Vulgate's proverbium and Elberfelder's marginal note all move the same way.
Lost in translation
that John avoids παραβολή That the Synoptics and John use different words is visible only in a word list. If a translation renders both as parable, the reader cannot learn that John chose otherwise. The loss is not at the level of a verse but of the whole Gospel.
Survives in · NASB / ESV / NIV2011 / VULG / ELB
7
Εἶπεν οὖν πάλιν ⸀αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ⸀ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ θύρα τῶν προβάτων.
So Jesus said to them again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8
πάντες ὅσοι ἦλθον ⸂πρὸ ἐμοῦ⸃ κλέπται εἰσὶν καὶ λῃσταί· ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἤκουσαν αὐτῶν τὰ πρόβατα.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not hear them.
9
ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ θύρα· δι’ ἐμοῦ ἐάν τις εἰσέλθῃ σωθήσεται καὶ εἰσελεύσεται καὶ ἐξελεύσεται καὶ νομὴν εὑρήσει.
I am the door; if anyone enters through me he will be saved, and will go in and go out and find pasture.
10
ὁ κλέπτης οὐκ ἔρχεται εἰ μὴ ἵνα κλέψῃ καὶ θύσῃ καὶ ἀπολέσῃ· ἐγὼ ἦλθον ἵνα ζωὴν ἔχωσιν καὶ περισσὸν ἔχωσιν.
The thief does not come except to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
11
Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός· ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλὸς τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ τίθησιν ὑπὲρ τῶν προβάτων·
I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Why this rendering
John.10.11 Hypothesis
Syntactic observation
The adjective is καλός, not ἀγαθός. And the order is ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός — the noun, then the article again, then the adjective — the shape of τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ at 1:18, and of the same order at 3:16. τίθησιν is the present of τίθημι, to place or lay down, and its object is ψυχή. The combination occurs four times in this chapter (vv.11, 15, 17, 18). ψυχή holds both life and soul, and at 10:24 it is used in quite another sense — how long will you hold our ψυχή in suspense.
Rendering options · 2
I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep
Basis Uses the settled renderings.
Rejected “Gives up” is not τίθημι. τίθημι is to lay down, and at 10:18 it pairs with λαμβάνω, to take again — laid down and taken up. Rendering it as giving up makes the taking up awkward.
Adopted I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Basis Renders τίθημι as laying down so that it pairs with taking up again at 10:18.
Lost in translation
τίθημι against λαμβάνω The life is laid down at vv.11, 15, 17, 18 and taken up again at v.18. The two verbs are the two halves of one gesture. Rendering the first as giving up splits them.
Survives in · YLT / KJV / NASB / ESV / NET / VULG / ELB
the range of ψυχή The ψυχή of v.11 is life; the ψυχή of v.24 is the mind held in suspense. One word, and neither Korean nor English can carry both.
12
ὁ ⸀μισθωτὸς καὶ οὐκ ὢν ποιμήν, οὗ οὐκ ⸀ἔστιν τὰ πρόβατα ἴδια, θεωρεῖ τὸν λύκον ἐρχόμενον καὶ ἀφίησιν τὰ πρόβατα καὶ φεύγει— καὶ ὁ λύκος ἁρπάζει αὐτὰ καὶ ⸀σκορπίζει—
The hireling, not being a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees — and the wolf snatches them and scatters —
13
⸀ὅτι μισθωτός ἐστιν καὶ οὐ μέλει αὐτῷ περὶ τῶν προβάτων.
because he is a hireling and the sheep are no care to him.
14
ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, καὶ γινώσκω τὰ ἐμὰ καὶ ⸂γινώσκουσί με τὰ ἐμά⸃,
I am the good shepherd, and I know my own and my own know me,
15
καθὼς γινώσκει με ὁ πατὴρ κἀγὼ γινώσκω τὸν πατέρα, καὶ τὴν ψυχήν μου τίθημι ὑπὲρ τῶν προβάτων.
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16
καὶ ἄλλα πρόβατα ἔχω ἃ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τῆς αὐλῆς ταύτης· κἀκεῖνα ⸂δεῖ με⸃ ἀγαγεῖν, καὶ τῆς φωνῆς μου ἀκούσουσιν, καὶ ⸀γενήσονται μία ποίμνη, εἷς ποιμήν.
And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; those also I must bring, and they will hear my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd.
Why this rendering
John.10.16 Observation
Syntactic observation
Two words stand in this verse — αὐλή and ποίμνη. αὐλή is a walled fold and also appears at 10:1. ποίμνη is a flock of animals and occurs only here in John. So sheep that are not of this **fold** come and become one **flock**. What becomes one is a company, not an enclosure. The numerals differ too: μία is feminine, agreeing with ποίμνη, and εἷς masculine, agreeing with ποιμήν. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸂δεῖ με⸃ ⸀γενήσονται).
Rendering options · 2
there shall be one fold, and one shepherd
Basis Renders both words as fold.
Rejected **The Vulgate has fiet unum ovile — there shall be one fold — and KJV followed it.** But the Greek is μία ποίμνη, one flock. Whether what becomes one is a walled enclosure or a gathered company is not the same statement. In our columns only the Vulgate and KJV read fold here; the rest read flock.
Adopted And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; those also I must bring, and they will hear my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd.
Basis Renders αὐλή as fold and ποίμνη as flock. 개역한글 already separates them as 이 우리 and 한 무리.
Lost in translation
the αὐλή / ποίμνη distinction Enclosure and company stand side by side in one verse, and the Vulgate and KJV made them one. This is a place where a single rendering shaped reading for a long time: whether what becomes one is an institution or a people.
Survives in · 개역한글 / YLT / NASB / ESV / NET / ELB / SYNOD / JPNICT
17
διὰ τοῦτό ⸂με ὁ πατὴρ⸃ ἀγαπᾷ ὅτι ἐγὼ τίθημι τὴν ψυχήν μου, ἵνα πάλιν λάβω αὐτήν.
For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, so that I may take it again.
18
οὐδεὶς ⸀αἴρει αὐτὴν ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ, ἀλλ’ ἐγὼ τίθημι αὐτὴν ἀπ’ ἐμαυτοῦ. ἐξουσίαν ἔχω θεῖναι αὐτήν, καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔχω πάλιν λαβεῖν αὐτήν· ταύτην τὴν ἐντολὴν ἔλαβον παρὰ τοῦ πατρός μου.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it again. This command I received from my Father.”
19
⸀Σχίσμα πάλιν ἐγένετο ἐν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις διὰ τοὺς λόγους τούτους.
A division arose again among the Jews because of these words.
20
ἔλεγον δὲ πολλοὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν· Δαιμόνιον ἔχει καὶ μαίνεται· τί αὐτοῦ ἀκούετε;
And many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is mad; why do you listen to him?”
21
⸀ἄλλοι ἔλεγον· Ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα οὐκ ἔστιν δαιμονιζομένου· μὴ δαιμόνιον δύναται τυφλῶν ὀφθαλμοὺς ⸀ἀνοῖξαι;
Others were saying, “These are not the words of one demon-possessed. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
22
Ἐγένετο ⸀τότε τὰ ἐγκαίνια ἐν ⸀τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις· ⸀χειμὼν ἦν,
Then the Dedication came in Jerusalem; it was winter.
Why this rendering
John.10.22 Hypothesis
Syntactic observation
ἐγκαίνια occurs only here in the New Testament. It is built from ἐν and καινός, new — a making-new, that is, a dedication. The festival commemorates the rededication of the temple in 164 BC; in Hebrew, Hanukkah. The verse opens with ἐγένετο, the γίνομαι that GLOSSARY fixed at 1:3 as “came to be.” And χειμών means both winter and storm. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀τότε ⸀τοῖς ⸀χειμὼν).
Rendering options · 2
the Feast of Dedication
Basis Uses the customary Korean church term.
Rejected 수전 means repairing the temple, which overlaps with the making-new of ἐγκαίνια, but as a Sino-Korean compound its root is not visible. For the same reason σκηνοπηγία was rendered so that its root shows at 7:2, this one is rendered so its sense shows.
Adopted Then the Dedication came in Jerusalem; it was winter.
Basis Renders it so the dedication shows, and keeps ἐγένετο as the verb fixed at 1:3.
Lost in translation
the καινός root “New” is inside ἐγκαίνια. Neither 수전절 nor Dedication keeps that root. Nor does the word show that in the middle of a festival for a temple defiled and made new again, the saying of 2:19–21 about his body as temple is echoing.
23
καὶ περιεπάτει ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἐν τῇ στοᾷ ⸀τοῦ Σολομῶνος.
And Jesus was walking in the temple courts, in the colonnade of Solomon.
24
ἐκύκλωσαν οὖν αὐτὸν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ ἔλεγον αὐτῷ· Ἕως πότε τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν αἴρεις; εἰ σὺ εἶ ὁ χριστός, εἰπὲ ἡμῖν παρρησίᾳ.
So the Jews surrounded him and were saying to him, “How long will you hold our soul in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us openly.”
25
ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Εἶπον ὑμῖν καὶ οὐ πιστεύετε· τὰ ἔργα ἃ ἐγὼ ποιῶ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ πατρός μου ταῦτα μαρτυρεῖ περὶ ἐμοῦ·
Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name, these bear witness about me.
26
ἀλλὰ ὑμεῖς οὐ πιστεύετε, ⸂ὅτι οὐκ⸃ ἐστὲ ἐκ τῶν προβάτων τῶν ⸀ἐμῶν.
But you do not believe, because you are not of my sheep.
27
τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἐμὰ τῆς φωνῆς μου ⸀ἀκούουσιν, κἀγὼ γινώσκω αὐτά, καὶ ἀκολουθοῦσίν μοι,
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me;
28
κἀγὼ ⸂δίδωμι αὐτοῖς ζωὴν αἰώνιον⸃, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀπόλωνται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, καὶ οὐχ ἁρπάσει τις αὐτὰ ἐκ τῆς χειρός μου.
and I give them life eternal, and they will never perish to the age, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
29
ὁ πατήρ μου ⸀ὃ δέδωκέν ⸀μοι ⸂πάντων μεῖζων⸃ ἐστίν, καὶ οὐδεὶς δύναται ἁρπάζειν ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ ⸀πατρός.
What my Father has given me is greater than all, and no one can snatch out of the Father's hand.
30
ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν.
I and the Father are one.”
Why this rendering
John.10.30 Observation
Syntactic observation
ἕν is **neuter** (nominative singular neuter). The subjects are a personal pronoun and a masculine noun, yet the predicate is not masculine εἷς but neuter ἕν. So it is not “I and the Father are one **person**” but “are one **thing**.” The verb ἐσμεν is first person plural — the sentence also keeps the subjects two. Just before, at 10:16, the feminine μία and masculine εἷς each agreed with their nouns, so the neuter here is not accidental.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted I and the Father are one
Basis Korean and English have no grammatical gender, so simply one.
I and the Father are one person
Basis Takes “one” as too vague and supplies personhood.
Rejected It settles what the Greek did not. That the predicate is neuter means the grammar pushes away the reading “one person.” Supplying it closes what the text left open.
Lost in translation
the neuter of the predicate Latin unum, German eins and Russian одно are neuter forms and carry the information as it stands. Korean 하나 and English one have no gender and no way to mark it. **Languages with gender keep it; languages without lose it.**
Survives in · VULG / ELB / SYNOD
31
Ἐβάστασαν ⸀οὖν πάλιν λίθους οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἵνα λιθάσωσιν αὐτόν.
So the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32
ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Πολλὰ ⸂ἔργα καλὰ ἔδειξα ὑμῖν⸃ ἐκ τοῦ ⸀πατρός· διὰ ποῖον αὐτῶν ἔργον ⸂ἐμὲ λιθάζετε⸃;
Jesus answered them, “Many good works I showed you from the Father; for which of them do you stone me?”
33
ἀπεκρίθησαν αὐτῷ οἱ ⸀Ἰουδαῖοι· Περὶ καλοῦ ἔργου οὐ λιθάζομέν σε ἀλλὰ περὶ βλασφημίας, καὶ ὅτι σὺ ἄνθρωπος ὢν ποιεῖς σεαυτὸν θεόν.
The Jews answered him, “We do not stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy — because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
34
ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Οὐκ ἔστιν γεγραμμένον ἐν τῷ νόμῳ ὑμῶν ⸀ὅτι Ἐγὼ εἶπα· Θεοί ἐστε;
Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, You are gods’?
35
εἰ ἐκείνους εἶπεν θεοὺς πρὸς οὓς ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ οὐ δύναται λυθῆναι ἡ γραφή,
If he called them gods to whom the word of God came — and the Scripture cannot be broken —
36
ὃν ὁ πατὴρ ἡγίασεν καὶ ἀπέστειλεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι Βλασφημεῖς, ὅτι εἶπον· Υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ εἰμι;
do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am Son of God’?
37
εἰ οὐ ποιῶ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πατρός μου, μὴ πιστεύετέ μοι·
If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me;
38
εἰ δὲ ποιῶ, κἂν ἐμοὶ μὴ πιστεύητε τοῖς ἔργοις ⸀πιστεύετε, ἵνα γνῶτε καὶ ⸀γινώσκητε ὅτι ἐν ἐμοὶ ὁ πατὴρ κἀγὼ ἐν ⸂τῷ πατρί⸃.
but if I do, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and go on knowing that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
39
ἐζήτουν οὖν ⸂πάλιν αὐτὸν⸃ πιάσαι· καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς αὐτῶν.
So they were seeking again to seize him, and he went out of their hand.
40
Καὶ ἀπῆλθεν πάλιν πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου εἰς τὸν τόπον ὅπου ἦν Ἰωάννης τὸ πρῶτον βαπτίζων, καὶ ἔμεινεν ἐκεῖ.
And he went away again across the Jordan, to the place where John was baptising at the first, and he remained there.
41
καὶ πολλοὶ ἦλθον πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ ἔλεγον ὅτι Ἰωάννης μὲν σημεῖον ἐποίησεν οὐδέν, πάντα δὲ ὅσα εἶπεν Ἰωάννης περὶ τούτου ἀληθῆ ἦν.
And many came to him and were saying, “John did no sign, but everything John said about this man was true.”
42
καὶ ⸂πολλοὶ ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτὸν ἐκεῖ⸃.
And many believed in him there.