Psalms

About this book

Psalm 23

1 A psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd,⁠ I lack nothing.⁠ 2 He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water.⁠ 3 He restores my strength. He leads me down the right paths for the sake of his reputation. 4 Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff reassure me. 5 You prepare a feast before me in plain sight of my enemies. You refresh my head with oil;⁠ my cup is completely full. 6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all my days, and I will live in the Lord’s house for the rest of my life.

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 23:1 and John 10:11

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

Summary

In Psalm 23, the psalmist describes God as a shepherd who provides pasture, water, and safe paths. John reshapes this imagery into a description of Jesus, who calls himself the good shepherd and offers his sheep pasture and abundant life.

Passages

Psalm 23:1

Hebrew Bible

1 A psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water. 3 He restores my strength. He leads me down the right paths for the sake of his reputation. 4 Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff reassure me.

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

John 10:11

New Testament

9 I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and runs away. So the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. 13 Because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep, he runs away. 14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not come from this sheepfold. I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice, so that there will be one flock and one shepherd.

90–110 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in John

References

“... The move from Ezekiel 34 and Psalm 23 into the New Testament is readily made in John 10 (see also Luke 15:3–6). Thus the entire imagery of YHWH as “good shepherd” is here redeployed as a characterization of Jesus. On the one hand, it is Jesus as shepherd who assures abundant life (v. 10). One can see that the ministry of Jesus in healing and feeding is a replication of the provision of grass, water, safe paths, and life in the psalm. Conversely, the sheep that belong to this shepherd “know his voice” (v. 4), trust him, rely on him, and obey him. ...”

Walter Brueggemann and Jr. William H. Bellinger, Psalms (New Cambridge Bible Commentary) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014), 126.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Psalms150 psalms

Compare Psalm 23:1 and John 10:11

Summary

Passages

Psalm 23:1

John 10:11

References

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