John 8:7 (ASV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

John 8:5 Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such: what then sayest thou of her?

John 8:6 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.

John 8:7 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.

John 8:8 And again he stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground.

John 8:9 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "continued", "asking", "lifted", "himself", "said", "without", "first", and "cast". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "continued" and "asking", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "And this they said trying him that..." into verse 8's "And again he stooped down and with...", so "continued" and "asking" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "continued" and "asking" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.