15:8 “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins 6 and loses 7 one of them, 8 does not light a lamp, sweep 9 the house, and search thoroughly until she finds it?
1 tn Grk “What man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a somewhat generic sense.
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.
3 tn Or “desert,” but here such a translation might suggest neglect of the 99 sheep left behind.
4 tn Grk “go after,” but in contemporary English the idiom “to look for” is used to express this.
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.
6 sn This silver coin is a drachma, equal to a denarius, that is, a day’s pay for the average laborer.
7 tn Grk “What woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses.” The initial participle ἔχουσα (ecousa) has been translated as a finite verb parallel to ἀπολέσῃ (apolesh) in the conditional clause to improve the English style.
8 tn Grk “one coin.”
9 tn Grk “and sweep,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.