properly · verb — present active indicative, 1st person singular
unto you
ὑμῖνhymîn
G5213
to (with or by) you
He that
ὁho
G3588
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative singular masculine
entereth
εἰσερχόμενοςeiserchomenos
G1525
to enter (literally or figuratively) · verb — present middle or passive deponent participle, nominative singular masculine
not
μὴmē
G3361
(adverb) not · particle — negative
by
διὰdia
G1223
through (in very wide applications · preposition
the door
θύραςthuras
G2374
a portal or entrance (the opening or the closure · noun — genitive singular feminine
into
εἰςeis
G1519
to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
the sheepfold
αὐλὴνaulēn
G833
a yard (as open to the wind) · noun — accusative singular feminine
but
ἀλλ᾽all᾽
G235
properly · conjunction
climbeth up
ἀναβαίνωνanabainōn
G305
to go up (literally or figuratively) · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
some other way
ἀλλαχόθεν,allachothen
G237
from elsewhere · adverb
the same
ἐκεῖνοςekeinos
G1565
that one (or (neuter) thing) · demonstrative pronoun — nominative singular masculine
is
ἐστίestí
G2076
he (she or it) is
a thief
κλέπτηςkleptēs
G2812
a stealer (literally or figuratively) · noun — nominative singular masculine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
a robber
λῃστής·lēstēs
G3027
a brigand · noun — nominative singular masculine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
John 10:8-10 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Romans 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the s…
Hebrews 5:4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
Jeremiah 23:32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by the…
Ezekiel 34:2-5 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the…
1 Peter 1:10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on John 10:1-18
It is not certain whether this discourse was at the feast of dedication in the winter (spoken of Joh 10:22), which may be taken as the date, not only of what follows, but of what goes before (that which countenances this is, that Christ, in his discourse there, carries on the metaphor of the sheep, Joh 10:26, Joh 10:27, whence it seems that that discourse and this were at the same time); or whether this was a continuation of his parley with the Pharisees, in the close of the foregoing chapter. The Pharisees supported themselves in their opposition to Christ with this principle, that they were the pastors of the church, and that Jesus, having no commission from them, was an intruder and an im…
Verily, verily, etc. - From Joh 10:6, we learn that this is a parable, i.e. a representation of heavenly things through the medium of earthly things. Some think our Lord delivered this discourse immediately after that mentioned in the preceding chapter; others think it was spoken not less than three months after. The former, says Bishop Pearce, was spoken at the feast of tabernacles, see chap. 7, or about the end of September, and this at the feast of dedication, or in December. See Joh 10:22.
Christ, says Calmet, having declared himself to be the light of the world, which should blind some while it illuminated others, Joh 9:41, continues his discourse, and, under the similitude of a shepher…
Verily, verily, I say unto you,.... To the Scribes and Pharisees, who had taken it ill that they should be thought to be blind; and who had cast out the man that Christ had cured of blindness, for speaking in favour of him; and who had traduced Christ as an impostor, and a deceiver, and set up themselves to be the shepherds of the flock, and the guides and rulers of the people; all which occasion the following parable; the design of which is to show, that Christ is the true and only shepherd, who was appointed, called, and sent of God, whose the sheep are, whose voice they hear, and know, and whom they follow; and that they, the Scribes and Pharisees, were thieves and robbers, and not shephe…
The Church Fathers
Our current circumstance is a lot like the sheepfold: the thief comes from wherever it is possible for him to hide. His desire is to steal. But the shepherd who has authority to use the entrance leads the sheep out to pasture, and they follow him, knowing their own shepherd, while they avoid the others whose voice they do not know.
I cannot help admiring in every particular that divine utterance: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not in by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth." Then the Lord says in explanation, "I am the door of the sheep." Men must then be saved by learning the truth through Christ, even if they attain philosophy.
Those, then, who follow impious words and dictate them to others, inasmuch as they pervert the divine words instead of using them rightly, neither enter into the kingdom of heaven themselves, nor do they permit those whom they have deluded to attain the truth. They do not have the key for the entrance but a false key. Using this counterfeit key, they do not enter in as we enter in, that is, through the tradition of the Lord by drawing aside the curtain. Instead they burst through the side door and dig clandestinely through the wall of the church. They step over the truth and constitute themselves the Mystagogues of the soul of the impious.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Fold — An enclosure for flocks to rest together (Isa. 13:20). Sheep-folds are mentioned Num. 32:16, 24, 36; 2 Sam. 7:8; Zeph. 2:6; John 10:1, etc. It was prophesied of the cities of Ammon (Ezek. 25:5),…
Hall — (Gr. aule, Luke 22:55; R.V., “court”), the open court or quadrangle belonging to the high priest’s house. In Matt. 26:69 and Mark 14:66 this word is incorrectly rendered “palace” in the Authorized…
Parable — (Gr. parabole), a placing beside; a comparison; equivalent to the Heb. mashal, a similitude. In the Old Testament this is used to denote (1) a proverb (1 Sam. 10:12; 24:13; 2 Chr. 7:20), (2) a…
Sheep — Are of different varieties. Probably the flocks of Abraham and Isaac were of the wild species found still in the mountain regions of Persia and Kurdistan. After the Exodus, and as a result of…
Parables · Good Shepherd — Good Shepherd
Sheep · .Of the righteous — .Of the righteous
Shepherd · Keeps the flocks in folds — Keeps the flocks in folds
Theft · Illustrates the guilt of false teachers — Illustrates the guilt of false teachers
Theft And Thieves · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Titles And Names Of Saints · Sheep of Christ — Sheep of Christ
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John 10:1-6
1. Verily, verily, I say to you, He who entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth by another way, is a thief and a robber. 2. But he who entereth by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4. And having put out his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him; for they know his voice. 5. But they will not follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers. 6. Jesus spoke this parable to them; but they did not understand what those things were which he spoke to them.
1. Verily, verily, I say to you.…
Chapter 10 continues the series of festival sermons (see study note on 5:1–10:42). Here, the setting is Hanukkah (the Festival of Dedication), the timing of which is crucial to understanding the story (see study note on 10:22).
10:1-21 This illustration of a shepherd and his sheep assumes a Middle Eastern understanding of shepherding and draws on Old Testament tradition deeply embedded in first-century Jewish culture. God was the shepherd of Israel (Gen 49:24; Pss 23; 78:52-53; Isa 40:10-11). Spiritual and political leaders of Israel were also shepherds of God’s people, the flock of God (Isa 56:9-12; Jer 23:1-4; Ezek 34). Jesus’ sermon builds on the occasion of Hanukkah (see John 10:22) to…
