In ancient times, a faithful shepherd was armed with two implements: the rod and the staff. We hear of this in Psalm 23:4, where David says to the Lord, “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” These items were intended, respectively, for defense (the rod) and guidance (the staff). When predators drew near, the shepherd wielded the rod in combat, and when sheep began to stray, he used the curved staff to draw their heads back in line. Likewise, a sound elder is able both to instruct and to rebuke. John Calvin wrote that the elder “ought to have two voices: one for gathering the sheep; and another, for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves.”

在古代，忠实的牧羊人手持两种工具：杖和杆。我们在诗篇 23 章 4 节中听到了这一点，其中大卫对主说：“你的杖，你的杆，都安慰我。”这些物品分别用于防御（杖）和引导（杆）。当掠食者靠近时，牧羊人会挥舞杖进行战斗，而当羊群开始走失时，他会用弯曲的杆将它们的头拉回到一条直线上。同样，健全的长老既能教导，又能责备。约翰·加尔文写道，长老“应该有两种声音：一种是聚集羊群；另一个是用来驱赶狼和盗贼的。”