Side by side
John 10
Our retelling next to the Bible text it comes from. Each row lines up one scene with the verses it retells.
Scene 1: The Thief and the ShepherdVerses 1 to 2
Jesus was still talking with the Pharisees who had thrown the man out. Now he told them a picture story about sheep.
"Truly, truly, I tell you," Jesus began (10:1). That was Jesus's way of saying, "Listen. This is important."
A sheepfold is a pen where sheep stay safe at night. It has one gate.
Jesus said a person who climbs in some other way is a thief and a robber.
The shepherd does not need to sneak in. He comes in by the gate.
1“Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2But the one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
Scene 2: They Know His VoiceVerses 3 to 6
The gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd.
The sheep listen for his voice. "He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out" (10:3).
The shepherd goes ahead of the sheep. They follow him because they know his voice.
They will not follow a stranger. They run away from a voice they don't know.
The people listening did not understand what Jesus meant. So he explained more.
3The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen for his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will flee from him because they do not recognize his voice.” 6Jesus spoke to them using this illustration, but they did not understand what He was telling them.
Scene 3: "I Am the Gate"Verses 7 to 10
"Truly, truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep" (10:7).
This is a comparison. Jesus is not a wooden gate. He means that he is the way in.
"If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved" (10:9). The sheep go in and out, and they find pasture. Pasture is a grassy field where sheep eat.
The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.
"I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness" (10:10).
7So He said to them again, “Truly, truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.
Scene 4: "I Am the Good Shepherd"Verses 11 to 13
Then Jesus said one of the most famous things he ever said.
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep" (10:11). To lay down his life means to die for them.
Jesus compared the good shepherd with a hired hand. A hired hand works only for pay. The sheep are not his own.
When a wolf comes, the hired hand leaves the sheep and runs away. The wolf attacks, and the flock scatters.
The hired hand runs because he does not care about the sheep.
The good shepherd does not run.
11I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock. 13The man runs away because he is a hired servant and is unconcerned for the sheep.
Scene 5: Known by NameVerses 14 to 16
"I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me" (10:14).
Jesus said he knows his sheep the way the Father knows him, and he knows the Father. And he lays down his life for the sheep.
Then Jesus said something surprising. He has other sheep that are not from this sheep pen. He must bring them in too.
"They will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd" (10:16).
14I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me, 15just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in as well, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd.
Scene 6: His Own ChoiceVerses 17 to 21
Jesus said the Father loves him because he lays down his life, so that he can take it up again.
"No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord" (10:18). Of my own accord means by my own choice.
Jesus said he had the authority to lay his life down and to take it up again. Authority means the right and the power. His Father had given him this job.
The people listening argued with each other. Some said Jesus had a demon and was out of his mind.
Others said, "These are not the words of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" (10:21).
17The reason the Father loves Me is that I lay down My life in order to take it up again. 18No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.” 19Again there was division among the Jews because of Jesus’ message. 20Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and insane. Why would you listen to Him?” 21But others replied, “These are not the words of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
Scene 7: "My Sheep Listen to My Voice"Verses 22 to 30
A few months later, it was winter. It was time for the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem.
Jesus was walking in the temple courts, in Solomon's Colonnade. A colonnade is a long walkway with a roof held up by columns.
People gathered around him. "How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly" (10:24). The Christ is the one God promised to send.
Jesus said he had already told them. The things he did in his Father's name showed who he was. But they did not believe, because they were not his sheep.
Then Jesus made a promise.
"My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand" (10:27-28).
To perish means to die and be lost. To snatch means to grab something away.
His Father, who gave them to him, is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of the Father's hand either.
"I and the Father are one" (10:30).
22At that time the Feast of Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23and Jesus was walking in the temple courts in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24So the Jews gathered around Him and demanded, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25“I already told you,” Jesus replied, “but you did not believe. The works I do in My Father’s name testify on My behalf. 26But because you are not My sheep, you refuse to believe. 27My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. 28I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. 29My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30I and the Father are one.”
Between scenesVerses 31 to 42
This part isn't retold as its own scene.
31At this, the Jews again picked up stones to stone Him. 32But Jesus responded, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?” 33“We are not stoning You for any good work,” said the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because You, who are a man, declare Yourself to be God.” 34Jesus replied, “Is it not written in your Law: ‘I have said you are gods’? 35If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken— 36then what about the One whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world? How then can you accuse Me of blasphemy for stating that I am the Son of God? 37If I am not doing the works of My Father, then do not believe Me. 38But if I am doing them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works themselves, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father.” 39At this, they tried again to seize Him, but He escaped their grasp. 40Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had first been baptizing, and He stayed there. 41Many came to Him and said, “Although John never performed a sign, everything he said about this man was true.” 42And many in that place believed in Jesus.
Your pair of translations is remembered on this device for other chapters.