8:7a

When they continued to question Him: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as When they continued to question Him is more literally “but as they remained asking questions.” It indicates that the religious leaders continued to ask Jesus what his opinion was. Even though Jesus seemed to ignore them, they did not go away.

Here are other ways to translate this clause:

When they continued to ask Jesus their question (New Century Version)
-or-
They kept on asking Jesus about the woman (Contemporary English Version)

8:7b

He straightened up: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as He straightened up probably indicates that Jesus stood up from his bent over position. It is the opposite of the word translated as “bent down” in 8:6c.

Here is another way to translate this clause:

he stood up (Revised Standard Version)

and said to them: The words and said to them introduce a direct quotation of Jesus’ words to the religious leaders. In some languages it may be more natural to start a new sentence here. For example:

He said/replied to them

8:7c–d

Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Let…cast is a command in the third person. Jesus did not directly answer the question he had been asked. Instead, he said that someone who had never sinned should be the one to begin to punish the woman.

Here are other ways to translate this sentence:

If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her. (New International Version)
-or-
“If any of you have never sinned, you may throw the first stone at her!”

8:7c

him who is without sin among you: Jesus challenged the woman’s accusers to consider their own lives. He did not say that some of them were actually sinless. He expected that all the accusers would realize that they were sinful. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

anyone here who has never sinned (New Century Version)
-or-
whichever of you is free from sin (Revised English Bible)

8:7d

be the first to cast a stone at her: The clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as be the first to cast a stone at her means “let him throw a stone at her first.” In some languages it may be natural to translate this with a verb phrase. For example:

may throw the first stone at her (Good News Translation)

at her: The pronoun her refers to the woman. In some languages it is more natural to make this explicit. For example:

at this woman

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