But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not - who has no property in them. By this He points to His own special relation to the sheep, the same as His Father's, the great Proprietor and Lord of the flock, who styles Him "My Shepherd, the Man that is my Fellow" (Zechariah 13:7); and though faithful under-shepherds, who are in their Master's interest, feel a measure of His own concern for their charge, the language is strictly applicable only to "the Son over His own house" (Hebrews 3:6).
Seeth [or 'beholdeth' theoorei (G2334 )] the wolf coming. By this is meant, not (as Stier, Alford, etc., take it) the Devil distinctively, but generally, as we judge, whoever comes upon the flock with hostile intent, in whatever form; though the wicked one, no doubt, is at the bottom of such movements. So Lucke, Luthardt.