The Woman Taken in Adultery

The words

John 7:53–8:11 (opens a new tab)

1. Accusers

   In the KJV account, Jesus asks where the woman’s accusers are after they leave one by one. Her reply that no one has condemned her precedes his own response.

   John 8:9–11 (opens a new tab)

2. Adultery

   In this KJV passage, the scribes and Pharisees bring an unnamed woman whom they say was caught in adultery. The narrator identifies their question as a way to accuse Jesus.

   John 8:3–6 (opens a new tab)

3. Condemned

   Passed sentence on.

   In the KJV, Jesus asks whether anyone has condemned the woman after her accusers depart. She answers that no one has; he replies that he does not condemn her either.

   John 8:9–11 (opens a new tab)

4. Conscience

   The KJV says the accusers’ conscience convicts them. The King James Version follows later manuscripts here; many modern Bibles, following older ones, read differently or put these words in a footnote.

   John 8:9 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: John 7:53-8:11 (opens a new tab)

5. Convicted

   Convinced of guilt; here, an inward response.

   The KJV describes the departing accusers as convicted by their own conscience. The NET retains their one-by-one departure but does not include that inward-response clause.

   John 8:9 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: John 7:53-8:11 (opens a new tab)

6. Early

   In the KJV account, Jesus returns to the temple early in the morning after going to the Mount of Olives. The people gather, and he sits down to teach.

   John 8:1–2 (opens a new tab)

7. Eldest

   Oldest; here, the first to leave.

   The KJV says the departures begin with the eldest and continue to the last. This follows Jesus’s challenge about the first stone and his second act of writing on the ground.

   John 8:7–9 (opens a new tab)

8. Ground

   In the KJV account, Jesus bends toward the ground and writes with his finger. The questioners continue asking for an answer before he straightens and speaks.

   John 8:3–7 (opens a new tab)

9. Morning

   Morning marks the teaching scene that precedes the accusation in the KJV account. Jesus has returned to the temple, and the people are gathered around him before the scribes and Pharisees bring the woman.

   John 8:2–3 (opens a new tab)

10. Mount of Olives

    The KJV narrative sends Jesus to the Mount of Olives before his early return to the temple. The passage names his destination but does not describe what he did there.

    Did you know?

    In a separate passage, Luke describes Jesus teaching in the temple by day and spending nights at the Mount of Olives; people come early to hear him.

    John 8:1–2 (opens a new tab) · Luke 21:37–38 (opens a new tab)

11. Sin No More

    After the woman says that no one has condemned her, the KJV records Jesus saying that he does not condemn her either. His final charge is to go and sin no more.

    John 8:10–11 (opens a new tab)

12. Stoned

    Executed by throwing stones.

    The accusers say Moses’s law calls for stoning. Jesus challenges the person without sin to throw first; the KJV account then describes the accusers leaving rather than carrying out the punishment.

    John 8:5–9 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: John 7:53-8:11 (opens a new tab)

13. Stooped

    Bent down.

    Stooped describes Jesus bending down to write in the KJV. After giving his answer about the first stone, he bends down again; the accusers then begin leaving one by one.

    John 8:6–9 (opens a new tab)

14. Tempting

    Testing or trying to trap.

    The KJV says the questioners are tempting Jesus so they can accuse him. They keep asking while he writes on the ground, until he rises and gives his challenge about the first stone.

    John 8:6–7 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: John 7:53-8:11 (opens a new tab)

15. Wrote

    The KJV records Jesus writing with his finger, then writing again after his reply about the first stone. It gives no words for either act, leaving the content of his writing unstated.

    John 8:6–8 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: John 7:53-8:11 (opens a new tab)