The Parable of the Sheepfold

101 'Verily, verily, I say to you, He who is not entering through the door to the fold of the sheep, but is going up from another side, that one is a thief and a robber; 2 and he who is entering through the door is shepherd of the sheep; 3 to this one the doorkeeper doth open, and the sheep hear his voice, and his own sheep he doth call by name, and doth lead them forth; 4 and when his own sheep he may put forth, before them he goeth on, and the sheep follow him, because they have known his voice; 5 and a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him, because they have not known the voice of strangers.' 6 This similitude spake Jesus to them, and they knew not what the things were that he was speaking to them;

Jesus the Good Shepherd

7 Jesus said therefore again to them, 'Verily, verily, I say to you—I am the door of the sheep; 8 all, as many as came before me, are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them; 9 I am the door, through me if any one may come in, he shall be saved, and he shall come in, and go out, and find pasture. 10 'The thief doth not come, except that he may steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they may have life, and may have 'it' abundantly. 11 'I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd his life layeth down for the sheep; 12 and the hireling, and not being a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, doth behold the wolf coming, and doth leave the sheep, and doth flee; and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep; 13 and the hireling doth flee because he is an hireling, and is not caring for the sheep. 14 'I am the good shepherd, and I know my 'sheep', and am known by mine, 15 according as the Father doth know me, and I know the Father, and my life I lay down for the sheep, 16 and other sheep I have that are not of this fold, these also it behoveth me to bring, and my voice they will hear, and there shall become one flock—one shepherd. 17 'Because of this doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that again I may take it; 18 no one doth take it from me, but I lay it down of myself; authority I have to lay it down, and authority I have again to take it; this command I received from my Father.'

19 Therefore, again, there came a division among the Jews, because of these words, 20 and many of them said, 'He hath a demon, and is mad, why do ye hear him?' 21 others said, 'These sayings are not those of a demoniac; is a demon able blind men's eyes to open?'

Jesus Rejected by the Jews

22 And the dedication in Jerusalem came, and it was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the porch of Solomon, 24 the Jews, therefore, came round about him, and said to him, 'Till when our soul dost thou hold in suspense? if thou art the Christ, tell us freely.' 25 Jesus answered them, 'I told you, and ye do not believe; the works that I do in the name of my Father, these testify concerning me; 26 but ye do not believe, for ye are not of my sheep, 27 according as I said to you: My sheep my voice do hear, and I know them, and they follow me, 28 and life age-during I give to them, and they shall not perish—to the age, and no one shall pluck them out of my hand; 29 my Father, who hath given to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to pluck out of the hand of my Father; 30 I and the Father are one.' 31 Therefore, again, did the Jews take up stones that they may stone him; 32 Jesus answered them, 'Many good works did I shew you from my Father; because of which work of them do ye stone me?' 33 The Jews answered him, saying, 'For a good work we do not stone thee, but for evil speaking, and because thou, being a man, dost make thyself God.' 34 Jesus answered them, 'Is it not having been written in your law: I said, ye are gods? 35 if them he did call gods unto whom the word of God came, (and the Writing is not able to be broken,) 36 of him whom the Father did sanctify, and send to the world, do ye say—Thou speakest evil, because I said, Son of God I am? 37 if I do not the works of my Father, do not believe me; 38 and if I do, even if me ye may not believe, the works believe, that ye may know and may believe that in me 'is' the Father, and I in Him.'

39 Therefore were they seeking again to seize him, and he went forth out of their hand, 40 and went away again to the other side of the Jordan, to the place where John was at first baptizing, and remained there, 41 and many came unto him, and said—'John, indeed, did no sign, and all things, as many as John said about this one were true;' 42 and many did believe in him there.

Jesus and Nicodemus

31 And there was a man of the Pharisees, Nicodemus his name, a ruler of the Jews, 2 this one came unto him by night, and said to him, 'Rabbi, we have known that from God thou hast come—a teacher, for no one these signs is able to do that thou dost, if God may not be with him.' 3 Jesus answered and said to him, 'Verily, verily, I say to thee, If any one may not be born from above, he is not able to see the reign of God;' 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, 'How is a man able to be born, being old? is he able into the womb of his mother a second time to enter, and to be born?' 5 Jesus answered, 'Verily, verily, I say to thee, If any one may not be born of water, and the Spirit, he is not able to enter into the reign of God; 6 that which hath been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which hath been born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 'Thou mayest not wonder that I said to thee, It behoveth you to be born from above; 8 the Spirit where he willeth doth blow, and his voice thou dost hear, but thou hast not known whence he cometh, and whither he goeth; thus is every one who hath been born of the Spirit.' 9 Nicodemus answered and said to him, 'How are these things able to happen?' 10 Jesus answered and said to him, 'Thou art the teacher of Israel—and these things thou dost not know! 11 'Verily, verily, I say to thee—What we have known we speak, and what we have seen we testify, and our testimony ye do not receive; 12 if the earthly things I said to you, and ye do not believe, how, if I shall say to you the heavenly things, will ye believe? 13 and no one hath gone up to the heaven, except he who out of the heaven came down—the Son of Man who is in the heaven. 14 'And as Moses did lift up the serpent in the wilderness, so it behoveth the Son of Man to be lifted up, 15 that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during,

God So Loved the World

16 for God did so love the world, that His Son—the only begotten—He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during. 17 For God did not send His Son to the world that he may judge the world, but that the world may be saved through him; 18 he who is believing in him is not judged, but he who is not believing hath been judged already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 'And this is the judgment, that the light hath come to the world, and men did love the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil; 20 for every one who is doing wicked things hateth the light, and doth not come unto the light, that his works may not be detected; 21 but he who is doing the truth doth come to the light, that his works may be manifested, that in God they are having been wrought.'

He Must Increase, but I Must Decrease

22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples to the land of Judea, and there he did tarry with them, and was baptizing; 23 and John was also baptizing in Aenon, nigh to Salem, because there were many waters there, and they were coming and were being baptized— 24 for John was not yet cast into the prison— 25 there arose then a question from the disciples of John with 'some' Jews about purifying, 26 and they came unto John, and said to him, 'Rabbi, he who was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou didst testify, lo, this one is baptizing, and all are coming unto him.' 27 John answered and said, 'A man is not able to receive anything, if it may not have been given him from the heaven; 28 ye yourselves do testify to me that I said, I am not the Christ, but, that I am having been sent before him; 29 he who is having the bride is bridegroom, and the friend of the bridegroom, who is standing and hearing him, with joy doth rejoice because of the voice of the bridegroom; this, then, my joy hath been fulfilled. 30 'Him it behoveth to increase, and me to become less;

The Testimony from Heaven

31 he who from above is coming is above all; he who is from the earth, from the earth he is, and from the earth he speaketh; he who from the heaven is coming is above all. 32 'And what he hath seen and heard this he doth testify, and his testimony none receiveth; 33 he who is receiving his testimony did seal that God is true; 34 for he whom God sent, the sayings of God he speaketh; for not by measure doth God give the Spirit; 35 the Father doth love the Son, and all things hath given into his hand; 36 he who is believing in the Son, hath life age-during; and he who is not believing the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God doth remain upon him.'