All who came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
Parallel translations
- WEB All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them.
- KJV All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
- NKJV All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
- NASB All those who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
- NLT All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them.
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
Jesus calls those who came before Him thieves and robbers whom the sheep did not heed. He refers to false messiahs and self-serving leaders, not the true prophets.
Overview
In context this targets the corrupt religious leaders and false claimants who sought to exploit Israel rather than the godly prophets who pointed to Christ. The genuine sheep did not follow these impostors. The verse exposes counterfeit shepherds in contrast to the true one.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ezek 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock?
- Jer 23:1“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.
- John 10:1“Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.
- John 10:27My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.
- Isa 56:10–12Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber.
- Acts 5:36Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.
- Ezek 22:25–28The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her.
- John 10:5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will flee from him because they do not recognize his voice.”
- Zech 11:4–9This is what the LORD my God says: “Pasture the flock marked for slaughter,
- Zech 11:16For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will neither care for the lost, nor seek the young, nor heal the broken, nor sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the choice sheep and tear off their hooves.
- Zeph 3:3Her princes are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, leaving nothing for the morning.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 10:8 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.