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 (erēmos) and goes in search of the one that is lost. The NRSVue’s rendering of erēmos as “wilderness” captures the historical and theological weight of the term. In standard lexicography (e.g., BDAG) and Septuagint usage, erēmos denotes an uninhabited, desolate, and exposed territory—the wild region beyond human settlement rather than a managed farm. This sense is reinforced by Matthew’s parallel account, which places the ninety-nine "on the mountains" (epi ta orē, Matt. 18:12), highlighting rugged, treacherous terrain. By contrast, the NIV’s “open country” and the CEB’s “pasture” domesticate the setting, softening the force of the Greek and obscuring the imminent threats—such as predators, thieves, and harsh elements—inherent to the ancient Judean wilderness.
Why, then, do the NIV and CEB choose softer renderings? Translators likely aim to defend the shepherd’s prudence, avoiding the impression that he irresponsibly abandoned his flock to peril. Yet this impulse misunderstands the genre: the parable is not a manual for risk-averse husbandry, but a deliberately startling story designed to highlight the shepherd’s extraordinary, almost scandalously urgent concern for the single lost sheep. Whether the shepherd left the ninety-nine under the care of secondary hired hands or simply trusted them to the wild is left intentionally unstated. The narrative deliberately bypasses practical logistics to force the listener’s focus onto the extreme priority placed on recovering the lost.
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