Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15:3-7 (Matt 18:12-14). In Luke 15:4, a man leaves the ninety-nine in the ἔρημος (eremos) and searches for the lost one. The NRSVue translates "eremos" as "the wilderness." This translation is good. But the NIV goes with "the open country," and CEB has "the pasture." Both of these translations do not convey the sense of danger in the desert. The plain meaning of eremos is wilderness or desert, an unsafe place where predators may appear. Why do the NIV and CEB choose the open country or the pasture? The reason is probably to give you the impression that the shepherd did not put his sheep in harm's way while searching for the lost sheep. But this parable is not a traditional moral story but a seemingly nonsensible, paradoxical story that we cannot sacrifice one sheep because of the majority.
NRSVue
Luke 15:4 “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?
NIV
15: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?
CEB
15:4 “Suppose someone among you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them. Wouldn’t he leave the other ninety-nine in the pasture and search for the lost one until he finds it?