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John 10:12
ESV He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
NIV The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.
NASB He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters the flock.
CSB The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them.
NLT A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock.
KJV But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
NKJV But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.

What does John 10:12 mean?

Jesus is making the third of three analogies which use the theme of shepherding. A main point of this third parallel is that Jesus is the "good shepherd," in contrast to those who have selfish interests at heart. Jesus comes to offer life (John 10:10). He does this with humility and self-sacrifice (John 10:11). Prior statements compared some religious leaders to thieves and robbers, who purposefully take advantage of the flock for their own gain (John 10:1, 8; Ezekiel 34).

Here, Jesus refers to those who serve the flock, in a sense, but who are not motivated by love and self-sacrifice. A hired shepherd, for instance, is inclined to run away when the sheep are under severe threat. That hired hand is only interested in the sheep so long as he benefits; when serving the sheep means personal risk, he abandons them. This describes those who purposefully take advantage of others using spiritual deception. But it also applies to those who "passively" take advantage: claiming spiritual authority or privilege without the service or sacrifice that position entails.

This also connects to a famous statement made later in this chapter. Jesus will claim that the life He offers is eternal, secure, and absolute: "no one will snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:28). The root verb used in this verse is harpazō. Jesus' later statement uses this exact same root word, differing only in tense. As the one and only "good shepherd," Jesus will never allow any of His sheep to be taken from Him. Full stop.
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