For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Parallel translations
- WEB For I know that after my departure, vicious wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
- BSB I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.
- NKJV For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
- NASB I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;
- NLT I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul warns that after his departure fierce wolves will enter and ravage the flock. He alerts the elders to coming danger from without.
Overview
Using the familiar image of wolves attacking sheep, Paul foretells the arrival of destructive false teachers and persecutors. The warning charges the elders to be vigilant defenders of the truth. Christ, the Good Shepherd, entrusts His sheep to undershepherds who must guard them against all that would devour their faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Matt 7:15Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
- 2 Pet 2:1But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
- Acts 20:28Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
- Luke 10:3Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
- John 10:12But 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.
- Matt 10:16Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
- Zech 11:17Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
- Jer 23:1Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
- Ezek 34:2–3Son 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 shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
- Zeph 3:3Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.
- Jer 13:20Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 20:29 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.