YHN 8:9 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 7:53–8:11: Jesus protected a woman who committed adultery

The earliest and most reliable manuscripts and other ancient documents do not contain this section, John 7:53–8:11. Some English translations, including the GNT, put it in brackets or parentheses. Others, including the NIV, put it in the text. However, they also say that it is almost certainly not part of the original text of John. Yet the passage is very old and may well contain a real narrative of an event in Jesus’ life.

All English translations include it in some way. So you should also include this section so that readers can learn it and refer to it. In addition to the above ways to include it, you can also put it in a footnote.

In this passage, some scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who had been caught committing adultery. They said that the law commanded them to stone an adulterer to death and asked Jesus about it. Jesus said that the person who had no sin should throw the first stone. They all left except the woman, and Jesus told her that he did not condemn her and to not sin again.

Here are other possible section titles:

Jesus saved/defended a sinful woman

Jesus refused to condemn a sinful woman

A woman adulterer received forgiveness

Paragraph 8:6c–9

Jesus did not at first answer the people who asked him about the sinful woman. He bent down and wrote something in the sand. Then he said that the person who had not sinned could throw the first stone. Beginning with the oldest, each of those who accused the woman left her. They knew that they too had sinned.

8:9a

When they heard this,

On hearing this,
When the religious leaders heard what Jesus said,

When they heard this: The pronoun they refers to the people who accused the woman. They heard what Jesus said. In some languages it may be natural to make they or this (or both of them) explicit. For example:

When they heard what he said (REB)

When the men who accused the woman heard Jesus’ words

8:9b

they began to go away one by one,

they left, one after another,
they began to leave, one man/person at a time.

they began to go away: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as began to go away means “began to leave.” The men did not leave all at once but gradually. For example:

the scribes and Pharisees left (GW)

one by one: The phrase one by one means that the accusers left one at a time. They did not all leave as a group. For example:

one at a time (NIV)

8:9c

beginning with the older ones,

starting with the older ones,
The older men went away first.

beginning with the older ones: This phrase indicates that the older men went away before the younger men. There is a textual issue here:

Some Greek manuscripts say just “beginning with the elders.” For example:
the older ones first (GNT) (ESV, NASB, NIV, RSV, CEV, GW, NET, NLT, GNT, REB, NABRE)
Some Greek manuscripts say “beginning with the elders, until the last.” For example:
beginning with the eldest, until the last one had gone (NJB) (NJB, KJV, NCV)

It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with most English translations.The UBS Committee chose option (1) with an A rating, which indicates that it is almost certain.

Here are other ways to translate this phrase

starting with the older ones (NET)

beginning with the older men (GW)

beginning with the oldest (NLT)

8:9d

until only Jesus was left, with the woman standing there.

until only Jesus was left with the woman who was standing there.
Finally Jesus was alone, along with the woman standing in front of him.

until only Jesus was left, with the woman standing there: This clause here indicates that the accusers had all gone and only Jesus and the woman remained. Probably the crowd that was listening to Jesus teach was still there. In order to avoid a wrong meaning, you may need to leave out only. For example:

leaving Jesus behind with the woman, who stood in front of him

until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman (NLT)

with the woman standing there: The Greek word that the BSB translates as there is more literally “in the middle.” The woman was left where the accusers had placed her in front of Jesus and the crowd.

Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

with the woman, who remained in the middle (NJB)

General Comment on 8:9a–d

This is a complex sentence with several short clauses. In some languages it may be natural to translate it as two shorter sentences. For example:

When they heard this, they all left, the older ones first. Jesus was left alone, with the woman still standing there. (GNT)

One by one, beginning with the older men, the experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees left. Jesus was left alone with the woman. (GW)

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

OET interlinear YHN (JHN) 8:9

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)