John 10

¹ "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber;

² but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

³ To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

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

⁵ A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."

⁶ This figure Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁷ So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

⁸ All who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not heed them.

⁹ I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

¹¹ I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

¹² He who is a hireling and not 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 them.

¹³ He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for 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 And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.

¹⁷ For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again.

¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father."

¹⁹ There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.

²⁰ Many of them said, "He has a demon, and he is mad; why listen to him?"

²¹ Others said, "These are not the sayings of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

²² It was the feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem;

²³ it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon.

²⁴ So the Jews gathered round him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

²⁵ Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness to me;

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

²⁷ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me;

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

²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

³⁰ I and the Father are one."

³¹ The Jews took up stones again to stone him.

³² Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these do you stone me?"

³³ The Jews answered him, "It is not for a good work that we stone you but for blasphemy; because you, being a man, make yourself God."

³⁴ Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, you are gods?

³⁵ If he called them gods to whom the word of God came (and scripture cannot be broken),

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

³⁷ If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;

³⁸ but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."

³⁹ Again they tried to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

⁴⁰ He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John at first baptized, and there he remained.

⁴¹ And many came to him; and they said, "John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true."

⁴² And many believed in him there.