Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15:3–7 (cf. Matt. 18:12–14). In Luke 15:4, the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine sheep in the ἔρημος (eremos) and goes in search of the one that is lost. The NRSVue’s rendering of eremos as “wilderness” is appropriate. By contrast, the NIV’s “open country” and the CEB’s “pasture” soften the force of the term and weaken its connotation of danger. In Greek, eremos ordinarily denotes a wilderness or desert place—an exposed and potentially unsafe setting where predators and other threats may be present.
Why, then, do the NIV and CEB choose less forceful renderings? The probable reason is to avoid the impression that the shepherd has irresponsibly placed the flock in danger while searching for the lost sheep. Yet the parable is not a realistic pastoral manual but a deliberately paradoxical story that highlights the shepherd’s unexpected and extravagant concern for the one lost sheep. At the same time, the narrative does not specify whether the shepherd left the ninety-nine entirely unprotected in the wilderness or made other arrangements, such as asking someone nearby to watch over them. The focus of the story is not on the practical logistics of sheep care, but on the urgency and priority given to recovering the lost sheep.
Compare the translations:
- NRSVue: “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: “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: “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?”