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John 10:14-16

I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own; even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd.

World English Bible · Public Domain
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John 10:14-16 sits inside this longer paragraph.

Jesus therefore said to them again, “Most certainly, I tell you, I am the sheep’s door. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture. The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 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. The hired hand flees because he is a hired hand, and doesn’t care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own; even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd. Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down by myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. I received this commandment from my Father.”

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Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own;

    even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep.

    I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd.

  • TYNDALE Tyndale New Testament (1534)

    I am that good shepeheerd and knowe myne and am knowe of myne.

    As my father knoweth me: even so knowe I my father. And I geve my lyfe for the shepe:

    and other shepe I have which are not of this folde. Them also must I bringe that they maye heare my voyce and that ther maye be one flocke and one shepeherde.

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  • GNV Geneva Bible (1599)

    I am that good shepheard, and knowe mine, and am knowen of mine.

    As the Father knoweth me, so know I the Father: and I lay downe my life for my sheepe.

    Other sheepe I haue also, which are not of this folde: them also must I bring, and they shall heare my voyce: and there shalbe one sheepefolde, and one shepheard.

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Examined in Scripture Analysis

Contradictions (1)

Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.

  • Is Jesus good?

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Cross-references (84)

  • Isaiah 56:8 (v16) The Lord Yahweh, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “I will yet gather others to him, in addition to his own who are gathered.”
  • John 11:52 (v16) and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
  • John 10:27 (vv14, 16) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
  • 1 Peter 2:25 (v16) For you were going astray like sheep; but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
  • Ezekiel 34:23 (v16) I will set up one shepherd over them, and he will feed them, even my servant David. He will feed them, and he will be their shepherd.
Show all 81 cross-references
  • 2 Timothy 2:19 (v14) However God’s firm foundation stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let every one who names the name of the…
  • John 10:11 (vv14–16) I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
  • Ephesians 2:13-18 (v16) But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke…
  • Ezekiel 37:24 (v16) “ ‘ “My servant David will be king over them. They all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in my ordinances, and observe my…
  • John 6:37 (v16) All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out.
  • Galatians 1:4 (v15) who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father—
  • Ephesians 1:17 (v14) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him,
  • 1 Peter 2:10 (v16) In the past, you were not a people, but now are God’s people, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
  • Romans 15:9-13 (v16) and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will give praise to you among the Gentiles and sing…
  • 1 John 5:20 (v14) We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in…
  • Matthew 17:5 (v16) While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved…
  • Revelation 3:20 (v16) Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and…
  • Isaiah 24:13-16 (v16) For it will be so within the earth among the peoples, as the shaking of an olive tree, as the gleanings when the vintage is done. These…
  • Isaiah 53:10 (v15) Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him. He has caused him to suffer. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he will see his offspring. He…
  • Matthew 11:27 (v15) All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the…
  • John 17:3 (v14) This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
  • Acts 15:14 (v16) Simeon has reported how God first visited the nations to take out of them a people for his name.
  • Acts 18:10 (v16) for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”
  • Acts 22:14 (v16) He said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth.
  • 1 Peter 3:18 (v15) Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God, being put to death in the…
  • 1 John 2:2 (v15) And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
  • Psalms 98:2-3 (v16) Yahweh has made known his salvation. He has openly shown his righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his loving…
  • Genesis 49:10 (v16) The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the…
  • Psalms 1:6 (v14) For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish.
  • Psalms 22:26-31 (v16) The humble shall eat and be satisfied. They shall praise Yahweh who seek after him. Let your hearts live forever. All the ends of the earth…
  • Psalms 72:17-19 (v16) His name endures forever. His name continues as long as the sun. Men shall be blessed by him. All nations will call him blessed. Praise be…
  • Psalms 86:9 (v16) All nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord. They shall glorify your name.
  • Ecclesiastes 12:11 (v16) The words of the wise are like goads; and like nails well fastened are words from the masters of assemblies, which are given from one…
  • Isaiah 42:10-12 (v16) Sing to Yahweh a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the islands and…
  • Isaiah 43:6 (v16) I will tell the north, ‘Give them up!’ and tell the south, ‘Don’t hold them back! Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the…
  • Isaiah 49:6 (v16) Indeed, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of…
  • Isaiah 52:10 (v16) Yahweh has made his holy arm bare in the eyes of all the nations. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
  • Ezekiel 37:22 (v16) I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. One king will be king to them all. They will no longer be two nations.…
  • Hosea 1:10 (v16) Yet the number of the children of Israel will be as the sand of the sea, which can’t be measured or counted; and it will come to pass that,…
  • Zechariah 2:11 (v16) Many nations shall join themselves to Yahweh in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell among you, and you shall know that…
  • Zechariah 8:20-23 (v16) Yahweh of Armies says: “Many peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come; and the inhabitants of one shall go to another,…
  • John 10:2 (v16) But one who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
  • Romans 8:29-30 (v16) For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Whom…
  • Ephesians 2:1-5 (v16) You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world,…
  • 2 Thessalonians 2:13 (v16) But we are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation…
  • 2 Timothy 1:12 (v14) For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to…
  • Zechariah 13:7 (v15) “Awake, sword, against my shepherd, and against the man who is close to me,” says Yahweh of Armies. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep…
  • Romans 9:23-24 (v16) and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory, us, whom he also called,…
  • Hebrews 13:20 (v16) Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord…
  • Isaiah 11:10 (v16) It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will…
  • Matthew 20:28 (v15) even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
  • John 10:17-18 (v15) Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down by…
  • John 15:13 (v15) Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
  • John 17:8 (v14) for the words which you have given me I have given to them, and they received them, and knew for sure that I came from you. They have…
  • Ephesians 3:19 (v14) and to know Christ’s love which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
  • Ephesians 5:2 (v15) Walk in love, even as Christ also loved us and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance.
  • Philippians 3:8 (v14) Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered…
  • 1 Timothy 2:5-6 (v15) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony in…
  • 1 Peter 2:24 (v15) He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness. You were healed by his wounds.
  • Revelation 2:2 (v14) “I know your works, and your toil and perseverance, and that you can’t tolerate evil men, and have tested those who call themselves…
  • Isaiah 53:4-6 (v15) Surely he has borne our sickness and carried our suffering; yet we considered him plagued, struck by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced…
  • Isaiah 53:8 (v15) He was taken away by oppression and judgment. As for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living and…
  • Daniel 9:26 (v15) After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off, and will have nothing. The people of the prince who come will destroy the city…
  • Luke 10:21 (v15) In that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these…
  • John 1:18 (v15) No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has declared him.
  • John 6:46 (v15) Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father.
  • John 8:55 (v15) You have not known him, but I know him. If I said, ‘I don’t know him,’ I would be like you, a liar. But I know him and keep his word.
  • John 17:25 (v15) Righteous Father, the world hasn’t known you, but I knew you; and these knew that you sent me.
  • 2 Corinthians 4:6 (v14) seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory…
  • Titus 3:3-5 (v16) For we were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating…
  • 1 Peter 5:4 (v16) When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away.
  • Revelation 2:13 (v14) “I know your works and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. You hold firmly to my name, and didn’t deny my faith in the days of…
  • Revelation 2:19 (v14) “I know your works, your love, faith, service, patient endurance, and that your last works are more than the first.
  • Revelation 3:8 (v14) “I know your works (behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut), that you have a little power, and kept my word, and…
  • Isaiah 53:11 (v14) After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light and be satisfied. My righteous servant will justify many by the knowledge of…
  • Galatians 3:13 (v15) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree,”
  • Titus 2:14 (v15) who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for…
  • Revelation 2:9 (v14) “I know your works, oppression, and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and they are not,…
  • Revelation 3:15 (v14) “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot.
  • Revelation 5:2-9 (v15) I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book, and to break its seals?” No one in heaven above, or on…
  • Revelation 3:1 (v14) “And to the angel of the assembly in Sardis write: “He who has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars says these things: “I know…

81 distinct cross-references across this passage (84 total citations).

Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)

Explain this passage (21 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv14–16 14. And I know my sheep, and am known…

14. And I know my sheep, and am known by mine. In the former clause, he again holds out his love towards us; for knowledge proceeds from love, and is accompanied by care. But it means also that he utterly disregards all who do not obey the Gospel, as he repeats in the second clause, and confirms what he had formerly said, that — on the other hand — he is known by the sheep

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.

Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv15–16 Loveth me, alloweth me.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv14–16 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my…
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv14–16 I am no hireling; the sheep are mine own;…
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v16 Here Christ proves himself to be the true shepherd…
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv14–16 I am the good shepherd,.... See Gill on Joh…
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv14–16 I know my sheep - With a tender regard…
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv14, 16 Verse 14. I - know my sheep] I know,…
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v16 Joh 10:16-18. And other sheep have I — Whom…
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv14–16 Know my sheep - Know my people, or my…
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv14–16 I know mine, and mine know me. To know,…
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv14–16 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep--in…
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv14–16 14. I am the good shepherd—THE—in whom all the…
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv14–16 14. and know my sheep, and am known of…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv14–16 (14) And know my sheep, and am known of…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv14–16 Vers. 14, 15. The Lord resumes: I am the…
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On v16 16. And other sheep I have, which are not…
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv14, 16 Joh 10:14 - Joh 10:15.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v16 other sheep
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v14 I am the good shepherd
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv14–16 10:14-17 I sacrifice my life for the sheep: Jesus…
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