Passage

John 8

Book: John · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Range note

John 8 contains two notable units. Verses 1-11 are the Pericope Adulterae (the woman caught in adultery), a textually disputed passage almost certainly not in the original autograph of John, absent from the earliest and best manuscripts (P66, P75, Sinaiticus, Vaticanus); see the parallel-passage John 7.53-8.11 and the textual-criticism issues at Mark 16.9-20. Verses 12-59 are the I-am-the-light-of-the-world / before-Abraham-was-I-am discourse, fully attested across the manuscript tradition and load-bearing for Christological readings.

The woman caught in adultery, verses 3-11 (pericope adulterae)

ASV (ASV)

"3. And the scribes and the Pharisees bring a woman taken in adultery; and having set her in the midst, 4. they say unto him, Teacher, this woman hath been taken in adultery, in the very act. 5. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such: what then sayest thou of her? 6. And this they said, trying him, that they might have whereof to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground. 7. But 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. 8. And again he stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground. 9. And they, when they heard it, went out one by one, beginning from the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the midst. 10. And Jesus lifted up himself, and said unto her, Woman, where are they? did no man condemn thee? 11. And she said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn thee: go thy way; from henceforth sin no more.]" (John 8:3-11, ASV, pericope bracketed in ASV apparatus)

KJV (KJV)

"3. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4. They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? 6. This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. 7. 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. 8. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 9. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11. She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." (John 8:3-11, KJV, pericope retained in TR-based KJV without bracket)

The I-am claim, verses 56-59

ASV (ASV)

"56. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad. 57. The Jews therefore said unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58. Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was born, I am. 59. They took up stones therefore to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple." (John 8:56-59, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"56. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it, and was glad.” 57. The Jews therefore said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old! Have you seen Abraham?” 58. Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.” 59. Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through the middle of them, and so passed by." (John 8:56-59, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"56. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 57. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58. Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. 59. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by." (John 8:56-59, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"56. Abraham, your father, was glad that he might see my day; and he saw, and did rejoice.' 57. The Jews, therefore, said unto him, 'Thou art not yet fifty years old, and Abraham hast thou seen?' 58. Jesus said to them, 'Verily, verily, I say to you, Before Abraham's coming, I am;' 59. they took up, therefore, stones that they may cast at him, but Jesus hid himself, and went forth out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by." (John 8:56-59, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: John (traditionally) the apostle / narrator + Jesus's direct teaching
Audience: the Jewish-Christian and pagan-Christian audience of late-first-century Asia Minor
Location: Jerusalem (the temple, during the Feast of Tabernacles continuation from ch. 7)
Time period: events c. AD 28-30; composed c. AD 85-95

Theological reading

John 8 is twice-load-bearing: the pericope adulterae (vv. 1-11, textually disputed) is the canonical OT-capital-offense test-case where Jesus refuses to enact a Mosaic-capital judgment ("let him who is without sin..."), cited in Lesson 4.3, Old Testament Difficulties as one of the three witnesses (Numbers 15 / 2 Samuel 11 / John 8) for the capital-list-is-canonical-but-not-consistently-enacted argument; the I-am claim in v. 58 is one of the strongest NT statements of Christ's pre-existent deity, deployed in Christological hubs. The book of John hub (John) provides higher-level theological context. The textual status of the pericope is treated at John 7.53-8.11 and parallels the issues at Mark 16.9-20.

Quoted in

Lesson 4.3, Old Testament Difficulties

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.