John 10

¹ ‘Verily, verily, I say to you, He who is not entering through the door to the fold of the sheep, but is going up from another side, that one is a thief and a robber;

² and he who is entering through the door is shepherd of the sheep;

³ to this one the doorkeeper doth open, and the sheep hear his voice, and his own sheep he doth call by name, and doth lead them forth;

⁴ and when his own sheep he may put forth, before them he goeth on, and the sheep follow him, because they have known his voice;

⁵ and a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him, because they have not known the voice of strangers.’

⁶ This similitude spake Jesus to them, and they knew not what the things were that he was speaking to them;

⁷ Jesus said therefore again to them, ‘Verily, verily, I say to you — I am the door of the sheep;

⁸ all, as many as came before me, are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them;

⁹ I am the door, through me if any one may come in, he shall be saved, and he shall come in, and go out, and find pasture.

¹⁰ ‘The thief doth not come, except that he may steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they may have life, and may have [it] abundantly.

¹¹ ‘I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd his life layeth down for the sheep;

¹² and the hireling, and not being a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, doth behold the wolf coming, and doth leave the sheep, and doth flee; and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep;

¹³ and the hireling doth flee because he is an hireling, and is not caring for the sheep.

¹⁴ ‘I am the good shepherd, and I know my [sheep], and am known by mine,

¹⁵ according as the Father doth know me, and I know the Father, and my life I lay down for the sheep,

¹⁶ and other sheep I have that are not of this fold, these also it behoveth me to bring, and my voice they will hear, and there shall become one flock — one shepherd.

¹⁷ ‘Because of this doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that again I may take it;

¹⁸ no one doth take it from me, but I lay it down of myself; authority I have to lay it down, and authority I have again to take it; this command I received from my Father.’

¹⁹ Therefore, again, there came a division among the Jews, because of these words,

²⁰ and many of them said, ‘He hath a demon, and is mad, why do ye hear him?’

²¹ others said, ‘These sayings are not those of a demoniac; is a demon able blind men’s eyes to open?’

²² And the dedication in Jerusalem came, and it was winter,

²³ and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the porch of Solomon,

²⁴ the Jews, therefore, came round about him, and said to him, ‘Till when our soul dost thou hold in suspense? if thou art the Christ, tell us freely.’

²⁵ Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and ye do not believe; the works that I do in the name of my Father, these testify concerning me;

²⁶ but ye do not believe, for ye are not of my sheep,

²⁷ according as I said to you: My sheep my voice do hear, and I know them, and they follow me,

²⁸ and life age-during I give to them, and they shall not perish — to the age, and no one shall pluck them out of my hand;

²⁹ my Father, who hath given to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to pluck out of the hand of my Father;

³⁰ I and the Father are one.’

³¹ Therefore, again, did the Jews take up stones that they may stone him;

³² Jesus answered them, ‘Many good works did I shew you from my Father; because of which work of them do ye stone me?’

³³ The Jews answered him, saying, ‘For a good work we do not stone thee, but for evil speaking, and because thou, being a man, dost make thyself God.’

³⁴ Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not having been written in your law: I said, ye are gods?

³⁵ if them he did call gods unto whom the word of God came, (and the Writing is not able to be broken,)

³⁶ of him whom the Father did sanctify, and send to the world, do ye say — Thou speakest evil, because I said, Son of God I am?

³⁷ if I do not the works of my Father, do not believe me;

³⁸ and if I do, even if me ye may not believe, the works believe, that ye may know and may believe that in me [is] the Father, and I in Him.’

³⁹ Therefore were they seeking again to seize him, and he went forth out of their hand,

⁴⁰ and went away again to the other side of the Jordan, to the place where John was at first baptizing, and remained there,

⁴¹ and many came unto him, and said — ‘John, indeed, did no sign, and all things, as many as John said about this one were true;’

⁴² and many did believe in him there.