Matthew 18:10-14 - The Parable Of The Lost Sheep

¹⁰ "See to it that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven constantly see the face of my Father [who is] in heaven. ¹² What do you think? If {a certain man has} a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go [and] look for the one that wandered away? ¹³ And if he happens to find it, truly I say to you that he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not wander away. ¹⁴ In the [same] way it is not the will {of} your Father [who is] in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

¹ Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were drawing near to hear him. ² And both the Pharisees and the scribes were complaining, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them!"

³ So he told them this parable, saying, ⁴ "What man of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the grassland and go after the one that was lost until he finds it? ⁵ And [when he] has found [it], he places [it] on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And [when he] returns to [his] home, he calls together [his] friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost!' ⁷ I tell you that in the [same] way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.