John 8:7 (YLT)

Passage

and when they continued asking him, having bent himself back, he said unto them, `The sinless of you--let him first cast the stone at her;'

Nearby Context

John 8:5 and in the law, Moses did command us that such be stoned; thou, therefore, what dost thou say?'

John 8:6 and this they said, trying him, that they might have to accuse him. And Jesus, having stooped down, with the finger he was writing on the ground,

John 8:7 and when they continued asking him, having bent himself back, he said unto them, `The sinless of you--let him first cast the stone at her;'

John 8:8 and again having stooped down, he was writing on the ground,

John 8:9 and they having heard, and by the conscience being convicted, were going forth one by one, having begun from the elders--unto the last; and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "continued", "asking", "having", "bent", "himself", "back", "said", and "sinless". 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 having stooped down he was...", 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.