And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
Parallel translations
- WEB They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they don’t know the voice of strangers.”
- BSB But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will flee from him because they do not recognize his voice.”
- NKJV Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
- NASB However, a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”
- NLT They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
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
The sheep refuse to follow a stranger and flee from him because they do not recognize his voice. Christ's people are kept from false shepherds.
Overview
True sheep instinctively reject voices that are not their shepherd's, a comfort that the flock will ultimately not be deceived by impostors. This points to the perseverance of God's people, guarded from fatal error. They are known by their refusal to follow strangers.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 1 Jn 4:5–6They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
- Col 2:6–10As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
- Eph 4:11–15And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
- Prov 19:27Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.
- Rev 2:2I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
- Mark 4:24And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.
- 1 Pet 2:1–3Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
- Luke 8:18Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.
- 2 Tim 3:5–7Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
- 1 Jn 2:21I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
- 1 Kgs 22:7And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him?
- 1 Jn 2:19They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
- 2 Tim 4:3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 10:5 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.