The Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹² “What do you think? ^(A)If any man has one hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? ¹³ And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. ¹⁴ In this way, it is not the will ^[a]of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

⁴ “^(A)What man among you, if he has one hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the ^[a]open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.