10:15a
just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father: The words just as introduce a comparison. The comparison is between the relationship of the Father and Jesus (10:15a), and the relationship of Jesus and his people (10:14b). (Jesus’ people are represented as his sheep in the metaphor.) Jesus implied that the relationship between himself and the Father is close and loving. The same is true of the relationship between Jesus and his people. Here are other ways to translate these clauses:
in the same way as the Father knows me and I know the Father
the Father: The words the Father refer to God the Father.
10:15b
And I lay down My life for the sheep: This clause indicates that Jesus was willing to die for his sheep, the people of God. That means that he died for the sake (benefit) of his people because his death paid for our sins. See how you translated a similar clause in 10:11b. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
And I am giving my life for the sake of the sheep. (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
And I give up my life to save my sheep. (Otomi Back Translation)
-or-
I am willing to die for them. (Good News Translation)
General Comment on 10:14–15
The Good News Translation reordered 10:14–15, mentioning the relationship of the Father and Jesus before the relationship between Jesus and his own people/sheep. The Good News Translation also refers to the sheep explicitly in 10:14 and uses a pronoun, “them,” in 10:15. Consider if this order of information may be more natural in your language:
14–15 I am the good shepherd. As the Father knows me and I know the Father, in the same way I know my sheep and they know me. And I am willing to die for them.
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