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THE MESSAGE

Matthew 18:12

"Look at it this way. If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders off, doesn't he leave the ninety-nine and go after the one? And if he finds it, doesn't he make far more over it than over the ninety-nine who stay put? Your Father in heaven feels the same way. He doesn't want to lose even one of these simple believers.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - God Continued...;   Jesus, the Christ;   Jesus Continued;   Lost Sheep;   Penitent;   Sheep;   Wicked (People);   Scofield Reference Index - Parables;   Thompson Chain Reference - Lost;   Parables;   Seeking Saviour, the;   Sheep, Lost;   Truth;   The Topic Concordance - Losing and Things Lost;   Salvation;   Seeking;   Will of God;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Love of Christ, the;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Parables;   Sheep;   Shepherd;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Lamb, Lamb of God;   Numbers, Symbolic Meaning of;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Hutchinsonians;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Cattle;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Parable;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Forgiveness;   Matthew, the Gospel of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Text of the New Testament;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Brotherhood (2);   Character;   Character of Christ;   Childhood;   Circumstantiality in the Parables;   Discourse;   Husbandman ;   Indolence;   Little Ones;   Matthew, Gospel According to;   Meals;   Metaphors;   Numbers (2);   Poet;   Questions and Answers;   Quotations (2);   Reconciliation;   Redemption (2);   Salvation;   Sheep, Shepherd;   Trinity (2);   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chief parables and miracles in the bible;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Agriculture;   Astray;   Go;   How;   Jesus Christ (Part 2 of 2);   Parable;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for November 14;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
What do you think?
King James Version (1611)
How thinke yee? If a man haue an hundred sheepe, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leaue the ninetie and nine, and goeth into the mountaines, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
King James Version
How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
English Standard Version
What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?
New American Standard Bible
"What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost?
New Century Version
"If a man has a hundred sheep but one of the sheep gets lost, he will leave the other ninety-nine on the hill and go to look for the lost sheep.
Amplified Bible
"What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them gets lost, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountain and go in search of the one that is lost?
Geneva Bible (1587)
How thinke ye? If a man haue an hundreth sheepe, and one of them be gone astray, doeth he not leaue ninetie & nine, & go into the mountaines, and seeke that which is gone astray?
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?
Legacy Standard Bible
"What do you think? If any man has one hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?
Berean Standard Bible
What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?
Contemporary English Version
Let me ask you this. What would you do if you had a hundred sheep and one of them wandered off? Wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go look for the one that had wandered away?
Complete Jewish Bible
"What's your opinion? What will somebody do who has a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away? Won't he leave the ninety-nine on the hillsides and go off to find the stray?
Darby Translation
What think ye? If a certain man should have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, does he not, leaving the ninety and nine on the mountains, go and seek the one that has gone astray?
Easy-to-Read Version
"If a man has 100 sheep, but one of the sheep is lost, what will he do? He will leave the other 99 sheep on the hill and go look for the lost sheep. Right?
George Lamsa Translation
What do you think? If a man should have a hundred sheep, and one of them is lost, would he not leave the ninety and nine on the mountain, and go in search of the one which is lost?
Good News Translation
"What do you think a man does who has one hundred sheep and one of them gets lost? He will leave the other ninety-nine grazing on the hillside and go and look for the lost sheep.
Lexham English Bible
What do you think? If a certain man has a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go and look for the one that wandered away?
Literal Translation
What do you think? If there be to any man a hundred sheep, and one of them strays away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and having gone he seeks the one having strayed?
American Standard Version
How think ye? if any man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and go unto the mountains, and seek that which goeth astray?
Bible in Basic English
What would you say now? if a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone wandering away, will he not let the ninety-nine be, and go to the mountains in search of the wandering one?
Hebrew Names Version
"What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn't he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray?
International Standard Version
"What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, he leaves the ninety-nine in the hills and goes to look for the one that has strayed, doesn't he?Luke 15:4;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
How doth it appear to you ? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them shall wander from them, doth he not leave the ninety and nine on the mountain, and, going, seek that which had wandered ?
Murdock Translation
How doth it appear to you? If a man should have a hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray, will he not leave the ninety and nine in the mountains, and go and seek the one that strayed?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Howe thynke ye? If a man haue an hundred sheepe, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leaue ninetie & nine, and goeth into the mountaynes, and seketh that which went astray?
English Revised Version
How think ye? if any man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and go unto the mountains, and seek that which goeth astray?
World English Bible
"What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn't he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray?
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
What think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them go astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine and go into the mountains, and seek that which is gone astray?
Weymouth's New Testament
What do you yourselves think? Suppose a man gets a hundred sheep and one of them strays away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go and look for the one that is straying?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
What semeth to you? If ther weren to sum man an hundrid scheep, and oon of hem hath errid, whethir he schal not leeue nynti and nyne in desert, and schal go to seche that that erride?
Update Bible Version
What do you think? if any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go to search for that which goes astray?
Webster's Bible Translation
How think ye? if a man hath a hundred sheep, and one of them is gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and go to the mountains, and seek that which is gone astray?
New English Translation
What do you think? If someone owns a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray?
New King James Version
"What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?
New Living Translation
"If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?
New Life Bible
What do you think about this? A man has one hundred sheep and one of them is lost. Will he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to look for that one lost sheep?
New Revised Standard
What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
How, to you, doth it seem? If a certain man come to have a hundred sheep and one from among them go astray, Will he not leave the ninety-nine upon the mountains, and going, seek the straying one?
Douay-Rheims Bible
What think you? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray: doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and goeth to seek that which is gone astray?
Revised Standard Version
What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
How thinke ye? Yf a man have an hondred shepe and one of them be gone astray dothe he not leve nynty and nyne in ye moutains and go and seke that one which is gone astray?
Young's Literal Translation
`What think ye? if a man may have an hundred sheep, and there may go astray one of them, doth he not -- having left the ninety-nine, having gone on the mountains -- seek that which is gone astray?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
How thinke ye? Yf a man haue an hundreth shepe, and one of the be gone astraye, doth not he leaue the nyentie and nyene in the mountaynes, and goeth, and seketh that one which is gone astraye?
Mace New Testament (1729)
If a man has an hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray, do you think he would not leave the ninety and nine in the mountains, and go in search for that which was gone astray?
Simplified Cowboy Version
"Let me ask you this. If you had a hundred cows, but one of them was missing, wouldn't you go look for it?

Contextual Overview

8"If your hand or your foot gets in the way of God, chop it off and throw it away. You're better off maimed or lame and alive than the proud owners of two hands and two feet, godless in a furnace of eternal fire. And if your eye distracts you from God, pull it out and throw it away. You're better off one-eyed and alive than exercising your twenty-twenty vision from inside the fire of hell. 10 "Watch that you don't treat a single one of these childlike believers arrogantly. You realize, don't you, that their personal angels are constantly in touch with my Father in heaven? "Look at it this way. If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders off, doesn't he leave the ninety-nine and go after the one? And if he finds it, doesn't he make far more over it than over the ninety-nine who stay put? Your Father in heaven feels the same way. He doesn't want to lose even one of these simple believers. "If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you've made a friend. If he won't listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won't listen, tell the church. If he won't listen to the church, you'll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God's forgiving love. "Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there." At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, "Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?" Jesus replied, "Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven. "The kingdom of God is like a king who decided to square accounts with his servants. As he got under way, one servant was brought before him who had run up a debt of a hundred thousand dollars. He couldn't pay up, so the king ordered the man, along with his wife, children, and goods, to be auctioned off at the slave market. "The poor wretch threw himself at the king's feet and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back.' Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt. "The servant was no sooner out of the room when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him ten dollars. He seized him by the throat and demanded, ‘Pay up. Now!' "The poor wretch threw himself down and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back.' But he wouldn't do it. He had him arrested and put in jail until the debt was paid. When the other servants saw this going on, they were outraged and brought a detailed report to the king. "The king summoned the man and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy. Shouldn't you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who asked for mercy?' The king was furious and put the screws to the man until he paid back his entire debt. And that's exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do to each one of you who doesn't forgive unconditionally anyone who asks for mercy." 11Whoever Becomes Simple Again At about the same time, the disciples came to Jesus asking, "Who gets the highest rank in God's kingdom?" For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, "I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom. What's more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it's the same as receiving me. "But if you give them a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you'll soon wish you hadn't. You'd be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck. Doom to the world for giving these God-believing children a hard time! Hard times are inevitable, but you don't have to make it worse—and it's doomsday to you if you do. "If your hand or your foot gets in the way of God, chop it off and throw it away. You're better off maimed or lame and alive than the proud owners of two hands and two feet, godless in a furnace of eternal fire. And if your eye distracts you from God, pull it out and throw it away. You're better off one-eyed and alive than exercising your twenty-twenty vision from inside the fire of hell. "Watch that you don't treat a single one of these childlike believers arrogantly. You realize, don't you, that their personal angels are constantly in touch with my Father in heaven? 12"Look at it this way. If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders off, doesn't he leave the ninety-nine and go after the one? And if he finds it, doesn't he make far more over it than over the ninety-nine who stay put? Your Father in heaven feels the same way. He doesn't want to lose even one of these simple believers.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

How: Matthew 21:28, Matthew 22:42, 1 Corinthians 10:15

if: Matthew 12:11, Psalms 119:176, Isaiah 53:6, Jeremiah 50:6, Ezekiel 34:16, Ezekiel 34:28, Luke 15:4-7, John 10:11-21, 1 Peter 2:25

into: 1 Kings 21:17, Ezekiel 34:6, Ezekiel 34:12

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 22:1 - Thou shalt Isaiah 27:12 - ye shall be Ezekiel 34:4 - sought Daniel 2:18 - they would Luke 12:32 - little Galatians 6:1 - restore

Cross-References

Genesis 17:17
Abraham fell flat on his face. And then he laughed, thinking, "Can a hundred-year-old man father a son? And can Sarah, at ninety years, have a baby?"
Genesis 18:6
Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. He said, "Hurry. Get three cups of our best flour; knead it and make bread."
Genesis 18:7
Then Abraham ran to the cattle pen and picked out a nice plump calf and gave it to the servant who lost no time getting it ready. Then he got curds and milk, brought them with the calf that had been roasted, set the meal before the men, and stood there under the tree while they ate.
Genesis 18:11
Abraham and Sarah were old by this time, very old. Sarah was far past the age for having babies. Sarah laughed within herself, "An old woman like me? Get pregnant? With this old man of a husband?"
Genesis 18:13
God said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh saying, ‘Me? Have a baby? An old woman like me?' Is anything too hard for God ? I'll be back about this time next year and Sarah will have a baby."
Genesis 18:20
God continued, "The cries of the victims in Sodom and Gomorrah are deafening; the sin of those cities is immense. I'm going down to see for myself, see if what they're doing is as bad as it sounds. Then I'll know."
1 Peter 3:6
Cultivate Inner Beauty The same goes for you wives: Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs. There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated by your life of holy beauty. What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition. Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as "my dear husband." You'll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, unanxious and unintimidated.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

How think ye,.... Or, as the Arabic, "what do you think?" what is your opinion of this matter? what is your sense of it? how does it appear to you? It is a Talmudic way of speaking, the same with מה אתם סבורין "what do you think?" what is your judgment? So the Rabbins, after they have discussed a point among themselves, ask k, מאי סבירא לן, "what is our opinion?" or what do we think upon the whole? Christ here appeals to his disciples, makes them judges themselves in this matter, and illustrates it by a familiar instance of a man's seeking and finding his lost sheep, and rejoicing at it.

If a man have an hundred sheep; who is the proprietor of them; not the hireling, who has them under his care, and whose the sheep are not; but the owner of them, to whom they belong, and who must be thought to be most concerned for anyone of them that should go astray: a hundred sheep seem to be the number of a flock; at least flocks of sheep used to be divided into hundreds. In a Maronite's will, a field is thus bequeathed l;

"the north part of it to such an one, and with it מאה צאן, "a hundred sheep", and a hundred vessels; and the south part of it to such an one, and with it מאה צאן, "a hundred sheep", and a hundred vessels; and he died, and the wise men confirmed his words, or his will.''

Such a supposition, or putting such a case as this, is very proper and pertinent.

And one of them be gone astray; which sheep are very prone to; see

Psalms 119:176;

doth he not leave the ninety and nine, which are not gone astray, in the place where they are; it is usual so to do:

and goeth into the mountains; alluding to the mountains of Israel, where were pastures for sheep, Ezekiel 34:13 and whither sheep are apt to wander, and go from mountain to mountain, Jeremiah 50:6, and therefore these were proper places to go after them, and seek for them in: but the Vulgate Latin version joins the words "in" or "on the mountains", to the preceding clause, and reads,

doth he not leave the ninety and nine in the mountains; and so read all the Oriental versions, Syriac, Arabic, Ethiopic, and Persic; and in the same manner Theophylact;

and seeketh that which is gone astray? This is usual with men: no man that has a flock of sheep, and though but one strays from it, but takes this method. This parable now may be considered, either as an illustration of the Son of man's coming into this world, to seek, and to save his lost sheep, mentioned in the preceding verse; even the lost sheep of the house of Israel, the little ones that believed in him, who were despised by the Jews. And then by the "ninety and nine", we are not to understand the angels; who never went astray, never sinned, but kept their first estate, whom Christ left in the highest heavens, on the holy mountains of eternity, when he became incarnate, and came down on earth to redeem mankind: for these never go by the name of sheep; nor are they of the same nature and kind with the one that strays, and is sought out; nor is their number, with respect to men, as ninety nine to one; at least it cannot be ascertained; nor were they left by Christ, when he came on earth; for a multitude descended at his birth, and sung glory to God. Nor are the saints in heaven intended, whose state is safe; since it cannot be said of them, as in the following verse, that they went not astray; for they went astray like lost sheep, as others, and were looked up, sought out, and saved by Christ as others; but rather, by them, are meant the body of the Jewish nation, the far greater part of them, the Scribes and Pharisees, who rejected the Messiah, and despised those that believed in him: these were in sheep's clothing, of the flock of the house of Israel, of the Jewish fold; and with respect to the remnant among them, according to the election of grace, were as ninety nine to one: these were left by Christ, and taken no notice of by him, in comparison of the little ones, the lost sheep of the house of Israel he came to save: these he left on the mountains, on the barren pastures of Mount Sinai, feeding on their own works and services; or rather, he went into the mountains, or came leaping and skipping over them, Song of Solomon 2:8, encountering with, and surmounting all difficulties that lay in the way of the salvation of his people; such as appearing in the likeness of sinful flesh, bearing, and carrying the griefs and sorrows of his people, obeying the law, satisfying justice, bearing their sins, and undergoing an accursed death, in order to obtain the salvation of his chosen ones, designed by the one sheep "that was gone astray"; who strayed from God, from his law, the rule of their walk, out of his way, into the ways of sin, which are of their own choosing and approving: or, the intention of this parable is, to set forth the great regard God has to persons ever so mean, that believe in Christ, whom he would not have stumbled and offended, and takes special care of them, that they shall not perish; even as the proprietor of a flock of sheep is more concerned for one straying one, than for the other ninety nine that remain.

k T. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 88. 2. l T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 156. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

To show still further the reason why we should not despise Christians, he introduced a parable showing the joy felt when a thing lost is found. A shepherd rejoices over the recovery of one of his flock that had wandered more than over all that remained; so God rejoices that man is restored: so he seeks his salvation, and wills that not one thus found should perish. If God thus loves and preserves the redeemed, then surely man should not despise them. See this passage further explained in Luke 15:4-10.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 18:12. Doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains — So our common translation reads the verse; others, Doth he not leave the ninety and nine UPON THE MOUNTAINS, and go, c. This latter reading appears to me to be the best because, in Luke 15:4, it is said, he leaveth the ninety and nine IN THE DESERT. The allusion, therefore, is to a shepherd feeding his sheep on the mountains, in the desert; not seeking the lost one ON the mountains.

Leaving the ninety and nine, and seeking the ONE strayed sheep: - This was a very common form of speech among the Jews, and includes no mystery, though there are some who imagine that our Lord refers to the angels who kept not their first estate, and that they are in number, to men, as NINETY are to ONE. But it is likely that our Lord in this place only alludes to his constant solicitude to instruct, heal, and save those simple people of the sea coasts, country villages, &c., who were scattered abroad, as sheep without a shepherd, (Matthew 9:36,) the scribes and Pharisees paying no attention to their present or eternal well-being. This may be also considered as a lesson of instruction and comfort to backsliders. How hardly does Christ give them up!


 
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