Bible Strands
John 8:5
In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. So what do You say?”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The accusers address Jesus immediately after presenting a woman caught in adultery, placing Him in a moment of public scrutiny during their deliberate attempt to test Him.
The words — ἐνετείλατο (eneteilato) = commanded; νόμῳ (nōmō) = law. The text states that Mosaic law explicitly orders the stoning of such a woman.
The thread — This legal mandate echoes Leviticus 20:10, Deuteronomy 22:21, and Ezekiel 16:38, where adultery consistently carries the death penalty.
Why it lands — It forces a direct answer to a loaded question, requiring the listener to address the conflict between strict legal application and the accusers' hidden agenda.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
Cross-references
- Leviticus 20:10 If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.
- Deuteronomy 22:21 she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. So you must purge the evil from among you.
- Ezekiel 16:38 And I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and those who shed blood; so I will bring upon you the wrath of your bloodshed and jealousy.
- Matthew 5:17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.
- Matthew 19:6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
- Matthew 22:16 They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance.
- Ezekiel 23:47 The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses.