Matthew 18:12

What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples (ὑμῖν, "you" plural) in the middle of a discourse on the kingdom's concern for the least, immediately after warning against despising "one of these little ones" (18:10).

The words — δοκεῖ (dokei), "do you think?" is a rhetorical form that presupposes the answer; it does not solicit information but presses the listener to concede what is already obvious.

The thread — Luke 15:4 repeats the same parable with the same rhetorical structure; Ezekiel 34:12 and 34:16 supply the prophetic background of God as the shepherd who seeks the scattered and the weak.

Why it lands — The question is framed so that the answer is self-evident, which means the real demand falls on the reader: would you actually leave the ninety-nine, or would you rationalize staying?

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

Cross-references

Ezekiel 34:12 As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.
Luke 15:4 “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?
Ezekiel 34:16 I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.’
Isaiah 53:6 We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.
Ezekiel 34:28 They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not consume them. They will dwell securely, and no one will frighten them.
Ezekiel 34:6 My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’
1 Peter 2:25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Psalms 119:176 I have strayed like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments.
Jeremiah 50:6 My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, causing them to roam the mountains. They have wandered from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place.
Matthew 12:11 He replied, “If one of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?