Lukas 15:4

15:4 “Which one ¹  of you, if he has a hundred ²  sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture ³  and go look for ⁴  the one that is lost until he finds it? ⁵ 

[15:4]  ¹ tn Grk “What man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a somewhat generic sense.

[15:4]  ² sn This individual with a hundred sheep is a shepherd of modest means, as flocks often had up to two hundred head of sheep.

[15:4]  ³ tn Or “desert,” but here such a translation might suggest neglect of the 99 sheep left behind.

[15:4]  ⁴ tn Grk “go after,” but in contemporary English the idiom “to look for” is used to express this.

[15:4]  ⁵ sn Until he finds it. The parable pictures God’s pursuit of the sinner. On the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, see John 10:1-18.