He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep, and scatters them.
Parallel Translations
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He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep, and scatters them.
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An heyred servaut which is not the shepeherd nether the shepe are his awne seith the wolfe comynge and leveth the shepe and flyeth and the wolfe catcheth them and scattereth the shepe.
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But an hireling, and hee which is not the shepheard, neither the sheepe are his owne, seeth the wolfe comming, and hee leaueth the sheepe, and fleeth, and the wolfe catcheth them, and scattreth the sheepe.
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to John 10:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Peter 2:3 In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn’t linger, and their destruction will not slumber.
- Acts 20:29 For I know that after my departure, vicious wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
- Ezekiel 34:2-6 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and tell them, even the shepherds, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat. You clothe yourself with the wool. You kill the fatlings, but you don’t feed the sheep. You haven’t strengthened the diseased. You haven’t healed that which was sick. You haven’t bound up that which was broken. You haven’t brought back that which was driven away. You haven’t sought that which was lost, but you have ruled over them with force and with rigor. They were scattered, because there was no shepherd. They became food to all the animals of the field, and were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill. Yes, my sheep were scattered on all the surface of the earth. There was no one who searched or sought.”
- Zechariah 11:16-17 For, behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit those who are cut off, neither will seek those who are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which is sound; but he will eat the meat of the fat sheep, and will tear their hoofs in pieces. Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock! The sword will be on his arm, and on his right eye. His arm will be completely withered, and his right eye will be totally blinded!”
- Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
- Isaiah 56:10-12 His watchmen are blind. They are all without knowledge. They are all mute dogs. They can’t bark— dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. Yes, the dogs are greedy. They can never have enough. They are shepherds who can’t understand. They have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter. “Come,” say they, “I will get wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be as today, great beyond measure.”
- Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.
- John 10:3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.
- 1 Timothy 3:3 not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;
- 1 Timothy 3:8 Servants, in the same way, must be reverent, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for money,
- 2 Timothy 4:10 for Demas left me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia; and Titus to Dalmatia.
- Titus 1:7 For the overseer must be blameless, as God’s steward, not self-pleasing, not easily angered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain;
- 1 Peter 5:2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, not for dishonest gain, but willingly;
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 12. But the hireling. By hirelings we are to…
12. But the hireling. By hirelings we are to understand those who retain the pure doctrine, and who proclaim the truth, as Paul says, to serve a purpose rather than from pure zeal. Though such persons do not serve Christ faithfully, yet we ought to hear them; for Christ wished that the Pharisees should be heard, because they sat in Moses’ seat, (Matthew 23:2;) and, in like manner, we ought to give such honor to the Gospel, as not to shrink from its ministers, though they be not good men. And as even the slightest offenses render the Gospel distasteful to us, that we may not be hindered by such false delicacy, let us always remember what I have formerly suggested, that if the Spirit of Christ does not operate so powerfully in ministers, as to make it plainly evident that he is their shepherd, we suffer the punishment of our sins, and yet our obedience is proved.
And he who is not the shepherd. Though Christ claims for himself alone the name of a shepherd, yet he indirectly states that, in some respects, he holds it in common with the agents by whom he acts. For we know that there have been many, since the time of Christ, who did not hesitate to shed their blood for the salvation of the Church; and even the prophets, before his coming, did not spare their own life. But in his own person he holds out a perfect example, so as to lay down a rule for his ministers. For how base and shameful is our indolence, if our life is more dear to us than the salvation of the Church, which Christ preferred to his own life!
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What is here said about laying down life for the sheep, may be viewed as an undoubted and principal mark of paternal affection. Christ intended, first, to demonstrate what a remarkable proof he gave of his love toward us, and, next, to excite all his ministers to imitate his example. Yet we must attend to the difference between them and him. He laid down his life as the price of satisfaction, shed his blood to cleanse our souls, offered his body as a propitiatory sacrifice, to reconcile the Father to us. Nothing of all this can exist in the ministers of the Gospel, all of whom need to be cleansed, and receive atonement and reconciliation to God by that single sacrifice. But Christ does not argue here about the efficacy or benefit of his death, so as to compare himself to others, but to prove with what zeal and affection he is moved towards us, and, next, to invite others to follow his example. In short, as it belongs exclusively to Christ to procure life for us by his death, and to fulfill all that is contained in the Gospel, so it is the universal duty of all pastors or shepherds, to defend the doctrine which they proclaim, even at the expense of their life, and to seal the doctrine of the Gospel with their blood, and to show that it is not in vain that they teach that Christ has procured salvation for themselves and for others.
But here a question may be put. Ought we to reckon that man a hireling, who, for any reason whatever, shrinks from encountering the wolves? This was anciently debated as a practical question, when tyrants raged cruelly against the Church. Tertullian, and others of the same class, were, in my opinion, too rigid on this point. I prefer greatly the moderation of Augustine, who allows pastors to flee on the condition that, by their flight, they contribute more to the public safety than they would do by betraying the flock committed to their charge. And he shows that this is done, when the Church is not deprived of well-qualified ministers, and when the life of the pastor in particular is so eagerly sought, that his absence mitigates the rage of enemies. But it the flock — as well as the pastor — be in danger, and if there be reason to believe that the pastor flees, not so much from a desire to promote the public advantage as from a dread of dying, Augustine contends that this is not at all lawful, because the example of his flight will do more injury than his life can do good in future. The reader may consult the Epistle to Bishop Honoratus, (Ep. 108) On this ground it was lawful for Cyprian to flee, who was so far from shuddering at death, that he nobly refused to accept the offer of saving his life by a treacherous denial of his Master. Only it must be held that a pastor ought to prefer his flock, or even a single sheep, to his own life.
Whose own the sheep are not. Christ appears here to make all shepherds besides himself to be, without exception, hirelings; for, since he alone is shepherd, none of us have a right to say that the sheep which he feeds are his own But let us remember that they who are guided by the Spirit of God reckon that to be their own which belongs to their Head; and that not in order to claim power for themselves, but to keep faithfully what has been committed to their charge. For he who is truly united to Christ will never cease to take an interest in that which He valued so highly. This is what he afterwards says:
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 12 But he that is an hireling, and not…
12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
Ver. 12. The wolf scattereth] To non-residents and other unconscionable ministers, Christ will say as once Eliab did to David, "With whom hast thou left those poor few sheep in the wilderness?" Vare, redde legiones, said Augustus, sighing. The like will this good shepherd say, judging; Pan curet oves, oviumque magistros, say many of our pluralists and idol shepherds. About Hildebrand’s time, so great was the negligence and wickedness of the clergy, that some set forth letters, as dated from the devils of hell to them; wherein they give them many thanks for the souls they had sent to hell, in such abundance as never was known before.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Those that deal in sheep, either keep them themselves,…
Those that deal in sheep, either keep them themselves, or by their near relations, as Jacob’s sons, and David, and Laban’s daughters did; or else they hired persons to keep them for them. There is a great deal of difference between the care of an owner, and the care of a hired servant in any thing; the owner taketh a more natural, diligent care, because the whole profit of the sheep, thriving and doing well, returneth unto himself. The hired servant may be careful in his measure and degree; but no such servant will take the care that an owner will take, nor run the hazards that he will run, because he knoweth that, let the flock thrive never so well, he shall have no more than the wages he is hired for: therefore what our Saviour saith is true concerning the generality of such hired servants, they will take some care of the flocks of sheep in their trust so long as there appeareth no danger, but if any danger appeareth, they leave the sheep, and flee, and the wolf cometh, and scattereth the sheep.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain But he that is an hireling, and not the…
But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd,.... That is, who is not the owner of the sheep, though he keeps them, yet only for reward: by whom are meant, not the faithful ministers of the word, who live upon the Gospel, as Christ has ordained, and who are worthy of their reward, and are not to be called hirelings by way of reproach; since they teach not for hire and reward, but for the good of souls, and the interest of the Redeemer; but such who seek only their gain, from their quarter, and mind their own things, and not the things of Jesus Christ:
whose own the sheep are not; who have neither a propriety in them, nor an hearty affection for them, and so care not what becomes of them: such an one "seeth the wolf coming"; by whom may be meant, either Satan; so the Jews compare Israel to a flock of sheep, and Satan, they say, , "he is the wolf" (u); or any false prophet, or teacher, who are ravenous wolves; though sometimes in sheep's clothing; or any tyrant, oppressor, or persecutor of the saints:
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and leaveth the sheep; as the idol shepherd, against whom a woe is pronounced, Zac 11:17.
And fleeth; not being willing to bear any reproach or persecution, for the sake of Christ; not such a keeper of the flock as David, who went after the lion and the bear, and when they rose up against him, did not flee, but caught them by the beard and slew them; nor like the Apostle Paul, who fought with beasts at Ephesus, and would turn his back on none, nor give place, no, not for an hour, that truth might continue;
and the wolf catcheth them; some of them:
and scattereth the sheep; the rest; so are the sheep of Christ and his churches sometimes scattered, by persecution raised against them; see Act 8:1. The Jews have a rule concerning such an hireling shepherd (w), which is this;
"a shepherd that feeds his flock, and leaves it, and goes to the city, and a wolf comes and ravines, and the lion comes and tears in pieces, he is free; but if he leaves by it his staff and his scrip, he is guilty.''
Which Maimonides thus (x) expresses and explains;
"a shepherd who can deliver that which is torn, and that which is carried captive, with other shepherds, and with staves, and does not call the other shepherds, nor bring the staves to deliver them, he is guilty: one that keeps freely, and one that keeps for hire; he that keeps freely, calls the shepherds, and brings the staves freely; and if he does not find them, he is not guilty; but he that keeps for hire, is obliged to hire shepherds and staves, in order to deliver them.''
(u) Caphtor, fol. 58. 1. (w) T. Bab. Bava Metzia, fol. 41. 1. & 93. 2. & 106. 1. (x) Hilchot Shechirut c. 3. sect. 6.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain But the hireling - It is not the bare…
But the hireling - It is not the bare receiving hire, which denominates a man a hireling: (for the labourer is worthy of his hire; Jesus Christ himself being the Judge: yea, and the Lord hath ordained, that they who preach the Gospel, should live of the Gospel:) but the loving hire: the loving the hire more than the work: the working for the sake of the hire. He is a hireling, who would not work, were it not for the hire; to whom this is the great (if not only) motive of working. O God! If a man who works only for hire is such a wretch, a mere thief and a robber, what is he who continually takes the hire, and yet does not work at all? The wolf - signifies any enemy who, by force or fraud, attacks the Christian's faith, liberty, or life. So the wolf seizeth and scattereth the flock - He seizeth some, and scattereth the rest; the two ways of hurting the flock of Christ.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 12. But he that is a hireling] Or,…
Verse 12. But he that is a hireling] Or, as my old MS. Bible reads it, the marchaunt, he who makes merchandise of men's souls; bartering them, and his own too, for filthy lucre. Let not the reader apply this, or any of the preceding censures, to any particular class or order of men: every religious party may have a hireling priest, or minister; and where the provision is the greatest there the danger is most.
Whose own the sheep are not] A hireling priest, who has never been the instrument of bringing souls to God, will not abide with them in the time of danger or persecution. They are not the produce of his labour, faith, and prayers: he has no other interest in their welfare than that which comes from the fleece and the fat. The hireling counts the sheep his own, no longer than they are profitable to him; the good shepherd looks upon them as his, so long as he can be profitable to them.
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Among the ancient Jews some kept their own flocks, others hired shepherds to keep them for them. And every owner must naturally have felt more interest in the preservation of his flock than the hireling could possibly feel.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain A hireling - A man employed to take care…
A hireling - A man employed to take care of the sheep, to whom wages is paid. As he does not own the sheep, and guards them merely for pay, rather than risk his life he would leave the flock to the ravages of wild beasts. The word translated “hireling” is often employed in a good sense; but here it denotes one who is unfaithful to his trust; and especially those ministers who preach only for support, and who are unwilling to encounter any danger or to practice any self-denial for the welfare of the church of God. They are those who have no boldness in the cause of their Master, but who, rather than lose their reputation or place, would see the church corrupted and wasted by its spiritual foes.
Whose own the sheep are not - Who does not own the sheep.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain an hireling . . . whose own the sheep…
an hireling . . . whose own the sheep are not--who has no property, in them. By this He points to His own peculiar relation to the sheep, the same as His Father's, the great Proprietor and Lord of the flock, who styles Him "My Shepherd, the Man that is My Fellow" (Zac 13:7), and though faithful under-shepherds are so in their Master's interest, that they feel a measure of His own concern for their charge, the language is strictly applicable only to "the Son over His own house" (Heb 3:6).
seeth the wolf coming--not the devil distinctively, as some take it [STIER, ALFORD, &c.], but generally whoever comes upon the flock with hostile intent, in whatever form: though the wicked one, no doubt, is at the bottom of such movements [LUTHARDT].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 12. A hireling—In real life the shepherd was sometimes…
12. A hireling—In real life the shepherd was sometimes even the munificent owner of the flocks; but often he was an employe for wages. Our Lord avails himself of this fact to distinguish between the mere mercenary and the true under shepherd, who is, as it were, but a representative and multiplication of the Good Shepherd.
The wolf—The devil, either as persecutor, or as seducer to sin and destruction. The mercenary in either case takes care simply of his own interest. He does not himself desire to destroy; but he would rather allow destruction than harm himself.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 12. an hireling] The word occurs nowhere else in…
12. an hireling] The word occurs nowhere else in N.T. excepting of the ‘hired servants’ of Zebedee (Mar_1:20). The Good Shepherd was introduced in contrast to the thief. Now we have another contrast to the Good Shepherd given, the hired shepherd, a mercenary, who tends a flock not his own for his own interests. The application is obvious; viz., to those ministers who care chiefly for the emoluments and advantages of their position, and retire when the position becomes irksome or dangerous.
and not the shepherd] Better, and not a shepherd, as in Joh_10:2.
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the wolf] Any power opposed to Christ. See on Joh_10:28.
and scattereth the sheep] The best authorities omit ‘the sheep;’ but the words might easily be omitted as apparently awkward and superfluous after the preceding ‘them.’ But in any case the meaning is ‘snatcheth certain sheep and scattereth the flock.’
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (12) But he that is an hireling.—The Greek word…
(12) But he that is an hireling.—The Greek word occurs again in the New Testament only in the next verse and in Mar_1:20. It implies a lower position than the household servant, and is more nearly what we should call the tramp-labourer. The thought follows from that of the good shepherd who in the time of danger will give his own life for the sheep. The hireling has no interest in the sheep, and cares for them only as far as to secure his own hire. This want of interest is strongly expressed in the double statement, “not the shepherd,” “whose own the sheep are not.” In the interpretation we are not to think of the hierarchy, who have been already, in Joh_10:8, designated as “thieves and robbers,” breaking into the fold, but of all persons who from any other motive than love for humanity, and by any other way than the door which is Christ, or by any other call than that of the Holy Spirit, take upon themselves the office of shepherds of the flock. The hour of danger will distinguish between the shepherd and the hireling. The one, loving the sheep, will give even his life for them. The other, caring only for the hire, in whatever form it comes, will flee and leave the sheep as a prey to the wolf.
And the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.—The words “the sheep” are not found in the majority of the better MSS., and their insertion makes the sentence awkward, because the pronoun “them” has been immediately before used for the same sheep. Adopting the better reading (see Note on next verse), we have, and the wolf catcheth them, and maketh havoc—i.e., seizeth individual sheep, and maketh havoc in the flock. Under the general image we are to understand all the spiritual foes which destroy individual souls and rend the Church of Christ. The wolf is the natural enemy of the sheep, and the fit emblem of all evil persons, who are the natural enemies of the sheep of Christ’s fold. He spake of “false prophets” as “ravening wolves” (Mat_7:15). He sent forth the Twelve “as sheep in the midst of wolves” (Mat_10:16), and the Seventy, whose mission, we shall see (comp. Note on Joh_10:22), was connected with the teaching of this chapter, “as lambs among wolves” (Luk_10:3). St. Paul foresaw that in the very city from which St. John wrote this Gospel, “after his departing, grievous wolves would enter in among them, not sparing the flock” (Act_20:29). These are the only passages in the New Testament where the word occurs, and from them we may gather that while wolves represent all false teachers and foes to truth, “the wolf” represents him who is the source from whence they come. As all shepherds are related to the Good Shepherd, so are all wolves to the wolf whose work they do.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Hethat is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose…
Hethat is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. (the word misywtov occurs in Mar_1:20) The hireling is contrasted with the shepherd. The protector of a flock, who, though, not a thief, or robber, or alien, yet has no unselfish regard for the sheep, is guilty of cowardice, and his shameless flight from danger may do as much harm to the flock as the thief or robber. Godet would, at all events at first, limit the reference to the priestly party, who ought to have had more courage and real care for the sheep, but were utterly unable to bear the brunt of assault from Sanhedrin and Pharisees. The latter represent, as he thinks, the ravening "wolf." But surely all who have merely mercenary or selfish motives in their treatment of souls, and who flee at the approach of danger or death, are here held up to grievous condemnation. All who proclaim themselves to be "the door of the sheep," who, independently of Christ, and without the animating breath of the Divine Spirit, are considering themselves rather than the flock which they profess to instruct and protect, are the hirelings here denounced. In the hour of real peril they turn and flee. "Whose own the sheep are not." They do not seek the destruction of the flock which is not theirs, but they neglect and forsake when they should be faithful unto death. They have not identified themselves with the object of their professed care. The wolf is the deadly power over seeking the destruction of the soul, and even compassing it; it is the metaphor for every sort of power opposed to Christ. (cf. Mat_10:16 Luk_10:3 Act_20:29) And the wolf snatcheth them, and scattereth (them). "The seizing and scattering" shows how these hostile powers not only devastate, but destroy; not only crush individuals, but ruin Churches. The sheep do not belong to a hireling, as they do to a shepherd. No living bond of common interest links them to each other.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 12. But he that is a hireling … leaveth…
12. But he that is a hireling … leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. It is not the bare fact of a man receiving pay that makes him a hireling. “The laborer is worthy of his hire.” He is a hireling who would not work were it not for this hire, and who works where the hire is highest rather than were he can do the most good.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.