Psalms 23:1

Psalm 23 ¹ 

A psalm of David.

23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, ² 

I lack nothing. ³ 

Psalms 79:13--80:1

79:13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,

will continually thank you. ⁴ 

We will tell coming generations of your praiseworthy acts. ⁵ 

Psalm 80 ⁶ 

For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; ⁷  a psalm of Asaph.

80:1 O shepherd of Israel, pay attention,

you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep!

You who sit enthroned above the winged angels, ⁸  reveal your splendor! ⁹ 

Psalms 100:3

100:3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!

He made us and we belong to him; ¹⁰ 

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Isaiah 40:10-11

40:10 Look, the sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior; ¹¹ 

his military power establishes his rule. ¹² 

Look, his reward is with him;

his prize goes before him. ¹³ 

40:11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock;

he gathers up the lambs with his arm;

he carries them close to his heart; ¹⁴ 

he leads the ewes along.

Ezekiel 34:30-31

34:30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, ¹⁵  and that they are my people, the house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. ¹⁶  34:31 And you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are my people, ¹⁷  and I am your God, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

John 10:3-4

10:3 The doorkeeper ¹⁸  opens the door ¹⁹  for him, ²⁰  and the sheep hear his voice. He ²¹  calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ²²  10:4 When he has brought all his own sheep ²³  out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize ²⁴  his voice.

John 10:14-16

10:14 “I am the good shepherd. I ²⁵  know my own ²⁶  and my own know me – 10:15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life ²⁷  for ²⁸  the sheep. 10:16 I have ²⁹  other sheep that do not come from ³⁰  this sheepfold. ³¹  I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice, ³²  so that ³³  there will be one flock and ³⁴  one shepherd.

Acts 20:28

20:28 Watch out for ³⁵  yourselves and for all the flock of which ³⁶  the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, ³⁷  to shepherd the church of God ³⁸  that he obtained ³⁹  with the blood of his own Son. ⁴⁰ 

Acts 20:1

Paul Travels Through Macedonia and Greece

20:1 After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging ⁴¹  them and saying farewell, ⁴²  he left to go to Macedonia. ⁴³ 

Ecclesiastes 2:25

2:25 For no one ⁴⁴  can eat and drink ⁴⁵ 

or experience joy ⁴⁶  apart from him. ⁴⁷ 

[23:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 23. In vv. 1-4 the psalmist pictures the Lord as a shepherd who provides for his needs and protects him from danger. The psalmist declares, “The Lord is my shepherd,” and then extends and develops that metaphor, speaking as if he were a sheep. In vv. 5-6 the metaphor changes as the psalmist depicts a great royal banquet hosted by the Lord. The psalmist is a guest of honor and recipient of divine favor, who enjoys unlimited access to the divine palace and the divine presence.

[23:1]  ² sn The LORD is my shepherd. The opening metaphor suggests the psalmist is assuming the role of a sheep. In vv. 1b-4 the psalmist extends the metaphor and explains exactly how the LORD is like a shepherd to him. At the surface level the language can be understood in terms of a shepherd’s relationship to his sheep. The translation of vv. 1-4 reflects this level. But, of course, each statement also points to an underlying reality.

[23:1]  ³ tn The imperfect verbal form is best understood as generalizing; the psalmist highlights his typical or ongoing experience as a result of having the LORD as his shepherd (habitual present use). The next verse explains more specifically what he means by this statement.

[79:13]  ⁴ tn Or (hyperbolically) “will thank you forever.”

[79:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “to a generation and a generation we will report your praise.” Here “praise” stands by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt worship. Cf. Ps 9:14.

[80:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 80. The psalmist laments Israel’s demise and asks the Lord to show favor toward his people, as he did in earlier times.

[80:1]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew expression shushan-eduth means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title. See the superscription to Ps 60.

[80:1]  ⁸ sn Winged angels (Heb “cherubs”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.

[80:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “shine forth.”

[100:3]  ¹⁰ tn The present translation (like most modern translations) follows the Qere (marginal reading), which reads literally, “and to him [are] we.” The Kethib (consonantal text) has “and not we.” The suffixed preposition לו (“to him”) was confused aurally with the negative particle לא because the two sound identical.

[40:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “comes as a strong one”; ASV “will come as a mighty one.” The preposition בְּ (bet) here carries the nuance “in the capacity of.” It indicates that the Lord possesses the quality expressed by the noun. See GKC 379 §119.i and HALOT 104 s.v. בְּ.

[40:10]  ¹² tn Heb “his arm rules for him” (so NIV, NRSV). The Lord’s “arm” symbolizes his military power (see Isa 51:9-10; 63:5).

[40:10]  ¹³ tn As the Lord returns to Jerusalem as a victorious warrior, he brings with him the spoils of victory, called here his “reward” and “prize.” These terms might also be translated “wages” and “recompense.” Verse 11 indicates that his rescued people, likened to a flock of sheep, are his reward.

[40:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in his bosom” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV), an expression which reflects closeness and protective care.

[34:30]  ¹⁵ sn A promise given to Abraham (Gen 15:7) and his descendants (Gen 15:8; Exod 6:7).

[34:30]  ¹⁶ sn The blessings described in vv. 25-30 are those promised for obedience in Lev 26:4-13.

[34:31]  ¹⁷ tn Heb, “the sheep of my pasture, you are human.” See 36:37-38 for a similar expression. The possessive pronoun “my” is supplied in the translation to balance “I am your God” in the next clause.

[10:3]  ¹⁸ tn Or “porter” (British English).

[10:3]  ¹⁹ tn The words “the door” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[10:3]  ²⁰ tn Grk “For this one.”

[10:3]  ²¹ tn Grk “And he.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[10:3]  ²² sn He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Some interpreters have suggested that there was more than one flock in the fold, and there would be a process of separation where each shepherd called out his own flock. This may also be suggested by the mention of a doorkeeper in v. 3 since only the larger sheepfolds would have such a guard. But the Gospel of John never mentions a distinction among the sheep in this fold; in fact (10:16) there are other sheep which are to be brought in, but they are to be one flock and one shepherd.

[10:4]  ²³ tn The word “sheep” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[10:4]  ²⁴ tn Grk “because they know.”

[10:14]  ²⁵ tn Grk “And I.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[10:14]  ²⁶ tn The direct object is frequently omitted in Greek and must be supplied from the context. Here it could be “sheep,” but Jesus was ultimately talking about “people.”

[10:15]  ²⁷ tn Or “I die willingly.”

[10:15]  ²⁸ tn Or “on behalf of” or “for the sake of.”

[10:16]  ²⁹ tn Grk “And I have.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[10:16]  ³⁰ tn Or “that do not belong to”; Grk “that are not of.”

[10:16]  ³¹ sn The statement I have other sheep that do not come from this sheepfold almost certainly refers to Gentiles. Jesus has sheep in the fold who are Jewish; there are other sheep which, while not of the same fold, belong to him also. This recalls the mission of the Son in 3:16-17, which was to save the world – not just the nation of Israel. Such an emphasis would be particularly appropriate to the author if he were writing to a non-Palestinian and primarily non-Jewish audience.

[10:16]  ³² tn Grk “they will hear my voice.”

[10:16]  ³³ tn Grk “voice, and.”

[10:16]  ³⁴ tn The word “and” is not in the Greek text, but must be supplied to conform to English style. In Greek it is an instance of asyndeton (omission of a connective), usually somewhat emphatic.

[20:28]  ³⁵ tn Or “Be on your guard for” (cf. v. 29). Paul completed his responsibility to the Ephesians with this warning.

[20:28]  ³⁶ tn Grk “in which.”

[20:28]  ³⁷ tn Or “guardians.” BDAG 379-80 s.v. ἐπίσκοπος 2 states, “The term was taken over in Christian communities in ref. to one who served as overseer or supervisor, with special interest in guarding the apostolic tradition…Ac 20:28.” This functional term describes the role of the elders (see v. 17). They were to guard and shepherd the congregation.

[20:28]  ³⁸ tc The reading “of God” (τοῦ θεοῦ, tou qeou) is found in א B 614 1175 1505 al vg sy; other witnesses have “of the Lord” (τοῦ κυρίου, tou kuriou) here (so Ì⁷⁴ A C* D E Ψ 33 1739 al co), while the majority of the later minuscule mss conflate these two into “of the Lord and God” (τοῦ κυρίου καὶ [τοῦ] θεοῦ, tou kuriou kai [tou] qeou). Although the evidence is evenly balanced between the first two readings, τοῦ θεοῦ is decidedly superior on internal grounds. The final prepositional phrase of this verse, διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου (dia tou {aimato" tou idiou), could be rendered “through his own blood” or “through the blood of his own.” In the latter translation, the object that “own” modifies must be supplied (see tn below for discussion). But this would not be entirely clear to scribes; those who supposed that ἰδίου modified αἵματος would be prone to alter “God” to “Lord” to avoid the inference that God had blood. In a similar way, later scribes would be prone to conflate the two titles, thereby affirming the deity (with the construction τοῦ κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ following the Granville Sharp rule and referring to a single person [see ExSyn 272, 276-77, 290]) and substitutionary atonement of Christ. For these reasons, τοῦ θεοῦ best explains the rise of the other readings and should be considered authentic.

[20:28]  ³⁹ tn Or “acquired.”

[20:28]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “with his own blood”; Grk “with the blood of his own.” The genitive construction could be taken in two ways: (1) as an attributive genitive (second attributive position) meaning “his own blood”; or (2) as a possessive genitive, “with the blood of his own.” In this case the referent is the Son, and the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. See further C. F. DeVine, “The Blood of God,” CBQ 9 (1947): 381-408.

[20:1]  ⁴¹ tn Or “exhorting.”

[20:1]  ⁴² tn Or “and taking leave of them.”

[20:1]  ⁴³ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[2:25]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “For who can…?” The rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “No one can!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949-51).

[2:25]  ⁴⁵ tn The phrase “and drink” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic harmonization with v. 24.

[2:25]  ⁴⁶ tn The verb II חוּשׁ (khush, “to enjoy”) is a hapax legomenon which BDB defines as “to feel; to enjoy [with the senses]” on the basis of the context, and the cognates: Arabic “to feel; to perceive [by senses]”; Aramaic חושׁ “to feel pain,” and New Hebrew חושׁ “to feel pain” (BDB 301 s.v. II חֹוּשׁ). HALOT relates the Hebrew root to Akkadian havavu “to be delighted with” (HALOT 300 s.v. II חושׁ 1). The Vulgate renders this term as “to enjoy.” The Greek versions (LXX, Theodotion) and the Syriac Peshitta, however, did not understand this hapax; they rendered it as “to drink,” making some sense of the line by filling out the parallelism “to eat [and drink]” (e.g., Eccl 8:15).

[2:25]  ⁴⁷ tc The MT reads מִמֶּנִּי (mimmenni, “more than I”). However, an alternate textual tradition of מִמֶּנּוּ (mimmennu,“apart from him [= God]”) is preserved in several medieval Hebrew mss, and is reflected in most of the versions (LXX, Syriac, Syro-Hexapla, and Jerome). The textual deviation is a case of simple orthographic confusion between י (yod) and ו (vav) as frequently happened, e.g., MT צו לצו צו לצו (tsv ltsv tsv ltsv) versus 1QIsa^a 28:10 צי לצי צי לצי (tsy ltsy ts ltsy); see P. K. McCarter, Jr., Textual Criticism, 47. It is difficult to determine which reading is original here. The MT forms a parenthetical clause, where Qoheleth refers to himself: no one had more of an opportunity to experience more enjoyment in life than he (e.g., 2:1-11). The alternate textual tradition is a causal clause, explaining why the ability to enjoy life is a gift from God: no one can experience enjoyment in life “apart from him,” that is, apart from “the hand of God” in 2:24. It is possible that internal evidence supports the alternate textual tradition. In 2:24-26, Qoheleth is not emphasizing his own resources to enjoy life, as he had done in 2:1-11; but that the ability to enjoy life is the gift of God. On the other hand, the Jerusalem Hebrew Bible project retains the MT reading with a “B” rating; see D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 3:570. The English versions are split on the textual problem: a few retain MT מִמֶּנִּי (“more than I”), e.g., KJV, ASV, YLT, Douay, NJPS, while others adopt the alternate reading מִמֶּנּוּ, “apart from him” (NEB, NAB, MLB, NASB, RSV, NRSV, NIV, Moffatt).