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JOHN · Trinity Bible Version

John 10

The full text of John 10 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.

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1 "Amen, amen, I tell you: whoever doesn't enter the sheep pen by the gate but climbs in over the wall is a thief and a bandit.

2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.

5 They will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers."

6 Jesus told them this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

7 So Jesus said to them again, "Truly, truly, I tell you: I am the door for the sheep.

8 All who have come before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep did not listen to them.

9 I am the gate. If anyone enters through me, they will be saved, and will come in and go out, and find pasture.

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came so that they may have life — life overflowing.

11 "I am the true shepherd. The true shepherd gives up his life for the sheep.

12 The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. He sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

13 He runs because he's a hired hand and doesn't care about the sheep.

14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me,

15 As the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

16 I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must lead them also, and they will hear my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd.

17 This is why the Father loves me: because I lay down my life so I may take it again.

18 No one takes it away from me — I lay it down myself. I have authority to lay it down, and authority to take it up again. This charge I received from my Father."

19 These words caused another division among the Jews.

20 Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?"

21 Others said, "These aren't the words of someone demon-possessed. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

22 At that time the Festival of Dedication took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter.

23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon's Colonnade.

24 So the Jews surrounded him and kept saying, "How long will you hold our souls in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us openly."

25 Jesus answered them, "I have told you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name testify about me.

26 But you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.

27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

28 And I give them eternal life, and they will never perish — no one will snatch them out of my hand.

29 What my Father has given me is greater than all, and no one can tear it out of the Father's hand.

30 I and the Father are one.

31 Again the Jewish leaders picked up stones to stone him.

32 Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of them are you stoning me?"

33 "We are not stoning you for any good work," the Jews answered him, "but for blasphemy, because you, a man, make yourself God."

34 Jesus answered them, "Isn't it written in your own Law, 'I have said, you are gods'?"

35 If he called them gods—those to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be set aside,

36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, 'You blaspheme,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?

37 If I'm not doing the works of my Father, don't believe me.

38 But if I do them, then even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.

39 So again they tried to seize him, but he slipped out of their hands.

40 He went back across the Jordan to the place where John had first been baptizing, and he stayed there.

41 Many people came to him, and they were saying, "John never did a sign, but everything John said about this man was true."

42 And many believed in him there.

Translation notes (46)
  1. John 10:1a The Greek phrase amēn, amēn is a Hebrew loanword (אָמֵן) that John keeps untranslated as a solemn pronouncement formula. It is used 25 times in this Gospel and only spoken by Jesus.
  2. John 10:1b The Greek word thyra can mean "door" or "gate"; for an outdoor sheep pen (aulē), "gate" is the natural meaning.
  3. John 10:1c The Greek word lēstēs is not a synonym of kleptēs ("thief, one who steals by stealth"). A lēstēs takes by force, meaning a brigand or bandit. In first-century Palestine, this word carried political overtones; Josephus uses it for armed insurgents, and it is the word used of Barabbas (John 18:40) and the two crucified with Jesus.
  4. John 10:2a The Greek word thyra can mean "door" or "gate"; in the context of a sheepfold, "gate" is the natural English meaning.
  5. John 10:6a The Greek word paroimia means a veiled saying, figure of speech, or proverb. In John's Gospel, it is used for Jesus' enigmatic discourse rather than a Synoptic-style parable (parabolē).
  6. John 10:7a Greek thyra: 'door' or 'gate.' Rendered 'door' to preserve the iconic 'I am the door' saying (cf. v. 9) and consistency with other Johannine/NT uses (Rev 3:20).
  7. John 10:7b The Greek phrase amēn amēn is a doubled solemnity formula unique to John's Gospel, appearing 25 times to mark weighty sayings of Jesus.
  8. John 10:8a The phrase "Before me" (pro emou) is omitted by some early manuscripts, including P45vid, P75, Sinaiticus*, and several Old Latin and Sahidic witnesses, but it is included by P66, A, B, D, and the majority. This phrase has long raised the question of whether the "all" includes the prophets; however, in context, Jesus is targeting self-appointed shepherds and false messiahs, not the prophets of Israel.
  9. John 10:8b The word "Bandits" (lēstai) denotes violent brigands or insurgents, and it is the same word used of Barabbas in John 18:40. It is paired with "thieves" (who steal by stealth) to create a contrast between stealth and force.
  10. John 10:9a This can also be translated as "door." The Greek word thyra covers both "door" and "gate," but the sheepfold imagery in verses 1–8 favors "gate."
  11. John 10:9b 'Come in and go out' is a Hebrew idiom for the full round of daily life under God's protection (cf. Num 27:17; Deut 28:6; Ps 121:8).
  12. John 10:10a The Greek word perisson means surplus, more than the measure, or beyond what is expected. It implies excess with no ceiling, rather than a mere fullness with a limit.
  13. John 10:10b The Greek phrase ei mē hina ("except that") functions here to express an exclusive purpose, meaning the thief comes for no reason other than these. While some grammarians read it as concessive ("except"), it is rendered "only to" here to clearly convey its exclusive force.
  14. John 10:11a The Greek word kalos means noble, model, or true-to-type, describing the shepherd as he should be. John uses kalos (rather than agathos) here and at John 10:14 to distinguish the true shepherd from the hireling mentioned in verses 12–13. The traditional rendering is "good shepherd."
  15. John 10:11b The Greek phrase tithēsin tēn psychēn literally means "sets down his soul/life." This is an idiom in John's Gospel for deliberate, willed self-giving (compare John 10:17–18: "no one takes it from me; I lay it down of myself"). The word psychē carries the fuller sense of the whole self or inner life.
  16. John 10:14a The Greek word kalos means "good," but it also carries overtones of "noble, model, or exemplary." It describes the shepherd as the true and committed one, in contrast to the hireling mentioned in verses 12–13.
  17. John 10:15a The Greek word psychē ("life") can also mean "soul" or "self." In John's Gospel, Jesus stresses that this life is given freely, not taken (compare John 10:18).
  18. John 10:16a The Greek word aulē ("fold," meaning the enclosure) is distinct from poimnē ("flock") at the end of the verse. The Vulgate's "unum ovile" (one sheepfold) combined these two distinct terms, which is a famous example of translation smoothing; the Trinity Bible Version preserves this distinction.
  19. John 10:18a This can also be translated as "commandment." The Greek word entolē here refers to the Father's commissioning charge to the Son (compare John 12:49; 14:31).
  20. John 10:18b The Greek word exousia means "delegated authority." Jesus states that he received this very charge from the Father.
  21. John 10:22a The Festival of Dedication is also known as Hanukkah, which commemorates the rededication of the temple in 164 BC.
  22. John 10:23a The Greek word stoa means "a covered colonnade or portico." "Solomon's Colonnade" was a roofed walkway along the east side of the temple's outer court.
  23. John 10:24a The Greek phrase hoi Ioudaioi often refers to the Judean religious authorities in John's Gospel, though the term remains deliberately broad.
  24. John 10:24b This can be literally translated as "lift up our soul." This is an unparalleled Greek phrase, traditionally understood as "keeping in suspense," though some interpret it as "provoke" or "wear out."
  25. John 10:24c The Greek word Christos means "the Anointed One." Its Hebrew equivalent is Messiah (compare John 1:41).
  26. John 10:24d The Greek word parrēsia means "openly, publicly, frankly," contrasting a public declaration with private or cryptic speech.
  27. John 10:25a This can also be translated as "I did tell you" (emphatic). The Greek word eipon is in the aorist tense, which points to testimony given earlier in the conversation.
  28. John 10:25b The Greek word kai here is used in an adversative sense, meaning "but" or "and yet." This usage is common after a verb of speaking that is met with a negative response.
  29. John 10:26a This can also be translated as "are not among my sheep" or "are not part of my flock." The Greek construction ek plus the genitive case (as in ek tōn probatōn tōn emōn) indicates belonging or origin, not just simple possession.
  30. John 10:28a The Greek word kagō is emphatic, meaning "And I" or "I myself." This ties the promise in this verse to verse 27, "My sheep hear my voice."
  31. John 10:28b The Greek text uses a strong, emphatic negation (ou mē) combined with eis ton aiōna ("into the age") to mean "never, not ever." Compare John 6:39.
  32. John 10:29a Greek manuscripts differ at this point. Early papyri (𝔓66, 𝔓75) and Vaticanus (B) read the neuter form ho...meizon, meaning "what my Father has given me is greater than all," which is followed in this translation. Other manuscripts (א, A, D, Θ) read the masculine form hos...meizōn, meaning "my Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all." The critical Greek text (NA28) indicates uncertainty by bracketing the reading.
  33. John 10:29b This can also be translated as "snatch it out" or "seize it out." The Greek verb harpazō is the same one used to describe the wolf in verse 12, indicating a predator's violent grab rather than petty theft.
  34. John 10:30a The Greek word hen is neuter, meaning "one thing," not the masculine heis, which would mean "one person." The verb esmen is plural, meaning "we are." While hen is used for believers' unity in John 17:11, 21-22, the surrounding context here (verses 28-29, 33) suggests a unity that goes beyond mere shared purpose.
  35. John 10:31a The Greek phrase hoi Ioudaioi is traditionally translated "the Jews." In John's narrative, this term typically refers to the religious authorities who opposed Jesus, rather than the Jewish people as a whole.
  36. John 10:32a This can also be translated as "noble works." The Greek word kala carries the sense of fine, honorable, or model deeds, not merely morally good ones.
  37. John 10:33a The Greek phrase hoi Ioudaioi in John's Gospel often refers to the Jewish authorities who opposed Jesus, rather than the Jewish people generally.
  38. John 10:33b Or 'making yourself out to be God.' The Greek theon is anarthrous; some take it as 'a god' (cf. Ps 82:6, cited in v. 34), though the charge of blasphemy points to the stronger sense.
  39. John 10:34a This verse quotes Psalm 82:6.
  40. John 10:34b Here, 'Your Law' refers to the Hebrew Scriptures in general, not just the Pentateuch (compare John 12:34; 15:25). The Greek word hymōn, translated 'Your own,' emphasizes a strong, often argumentative, possessive sense.
  41. John 10:35a This verse quotes Psalm 82:6, which is also cited in verse 34. Scholars debate whether Psalm 82 refers to human judges or a divine council.
  42. John 10:35b 'Set aside' translates the Greek word lythēnai. This verb has the legal meaning of annulling a binding rule, rather than physically breaking something (compare John 5:18; 7:23).
  43. John 10:36a The Greek word hēgiasen means 'consecrated' or 'sanctified.' This verb uses language often associated with the dedication of a temple, which fits the surrounding scene of the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22).
  44. John 10:36b The Greek text does not include the definite article 'the' before 'Son of God' (huios theou). Because of this, some translations render it 'a Son of God' or 'God's Son.'
  45. John 10:38a The Greek text uses two verbs for 'know': gnōte, which is an aorist tense (indicating a completed action), and ginōskēte, which is a present tense (indicating ongoing action). Some ancient manuscripts read pisteusēte ('believe') for the second verb, while others, including P66, P75, and B, read ginōskēte.
  46. John 10:39a The Greek text literally says 'out of their hand' (singular). It is translated as 'hands' to reflect the natural English idiom for escaping from a grasp.
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