Translation
Having straightened up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are your accusers?
Go to footnote numberHas no one condemned you as guilty?
Paraphrase
Returning to an upright sitting position, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are those who brought this accusation against you? Has no one played the role of judge and condemned you as worthy of punishment?”
Footnotes
1
In Revelation 12:10 Satan is called the accuser of the believers. In John 8 the religious leaders were playing the same role that Satan plays – accusers.
HAS NO ONE PLAYED THE ROLE OF JUDGE?
We would expect Jesus’ question to be. “Has no one stepped forward to be the first witness, the one who throws the first stone?” But Jesus did not ask His question that way. He gave them permission to stone her but on one condition, that they allow Him to judge their lives as well and see if they were also guilty of a sin of equal gravity. In a way, Jesus rendered a judgement on her and it was a guilty verdict (there were two or more witnesses and that is what the law required). But, at the same time, He had not served as judge in the normal sense, and He had definitely not given them what they had sought. Had the religious leaders condemned her to death, they would have been designating one of their own group as a judge to fulfill the process as they had hoped – without any conditions.