1. Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming to hear him.
2. But the Pharisees and the experts in the law were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3. So Jesus told them this parable:
4. “Which one of you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go look for the one that is lost until he finds it?
5. Then when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6. Returning home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.’
7. I tell you, 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 to repent.
8. “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search thoroughly until she finds it?
9. Then when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’
10. In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
11. Then Jesus said, “A man had two sons.