But when they continued asking him, he looked up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her.”
Parallel translations
- KJV So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
- BSB When they continued to question Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her.”
- NKJV So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”
- NASB When they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
- NLT They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When they persisted, Jesus said that the one without sin among them should throw the first stone. He upholds the law while exposing the accusers' own guilt.
Overview
Jesus' famous reply neither denies the law nor dismisses the woman's sin, but confronts the accusers with their own sinfulness. By requiring a sinless accuser to cast the first stone, He calls for self-examination before condemnation. This wisdom magnifies both the holiness of God's law and the mercy of Christ, who alone is without sin and yet does not condemn the repentant.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Matt 7:1–5“Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged.
- Rom 2:21–25You therefore who teach another, don’t you teach yourself? You who preach that a man shouldn’t steal, do you steal?
- Rom 2:1–3Therefore you are without excuse, O man, whoever you are who judge. For in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who judge practice the same things.
- Deut 17:6–7At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death. At the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
- Matt 23:25–28“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and unrighteousness.
- Col 4:6Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
- Heb 4:12–13For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
- Ps 50:16–20But to the wicked God says, “What right do you have to declare my statutes, that you have taken my covenant on your lips,
- Rev 2:16Repent therefore, or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth.
- Prov 26:4–5Don’t answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.
- 1 Cor 14:24–25But if all prophesy, and someone unbelieving or unlearned comes in, he is reproved by all, and he is judged by all.
- Rev 19:15Out of his mouth proceeds a sharp, double-edged sword, that with it he should strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He treads the wine press of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty.
- Rev 1:16He had seven stars in his right hand. Out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.
- Jer 23:29“Isn’t my word like fire?” says Yahweh; “and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
- Prov 12:18There is one who speaks rashly like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise heals.
- John 7:46The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this man!”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
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Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.