John 10:12

The hired hand, ¹  who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons ²  the sheep and runs away. ³  So the wolf attacks ⁴  the sheep and scatters them.

Isa 56:10-12; Eze 34:2-6; Zec 11:16,17; Mt 7:15; Mt 10:16; Joh 10:3; Ac 20:29; 1Ti 3:3,8; 2Ti 4:10; Tit 1:7; 1Pe 5:2; 2Pe 2:3

¹ sn Jesus contrasts the behavior of the shepherd with that of the hired hand. This is a worker who is simply paid to do a job; he has no other interest in the sheep and is certainly not about to risk his life for them. When they are threatened, he simply runs away.

² tn Grk “leaves.”

³ tn Or “flees.”

⁴ tn Or “seizes.” The more traditional rendering, “snatches,” has the idea of seizing something by force and carrying it off, which is certainly possible here. However, in the sequence in John 10:12, this action precedes the scattering of the flock of sheep, so “attacks” is preferable.