A woman caught in adultery is brought to Jesus and he is asked if she should be stoned.
John 8:7 He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
John 8:7 “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
The one of you blameless must first against her toss a stone.
There is a humorous double meaning hidden here. The common way is to interpret the adjective used as "without sin" or "blameless," but the word also means "unerring" or "inaccurate" so it could also be interpreted as a challenge for the person who never misses to throw first. The crowd is stopped not only by their sense of guilt, but by a confusion. Is there someone there who thinks that they can throw and not miss? If so, what if they do miss? Then that person will look like a fool, guilty of hubris.
It takes a lot of misses to create a hit.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "he" is not the common word usually translated as "he."
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "that is" doesn't exist in the source.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "at" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "any" doesn't exist in the source.
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "who is" doesn't exist in the source.
- IP - Inserted Phrase-- The phrase "be the" doesn't exist in the source.
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "to" doesn't exist in the source.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "at" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
He -- (CW) The word translated as "he" is the Greek definite article, without a noun, it has the sense of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.
that is -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "that is" in the Greek source. It was added because the next verb was translated as active rather than as a participle.
without sin - "Is without sin" is from anamartetos, which is an adjective that means "making no mistake", "blameless", "having done no wrong", "unerring", "without fail," and "unfailing."
among -- This word "among" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession. However, it can also mean "belonging to," "part of," "which is," "than" (in comparisons), or "for," "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs. In references to time, it could instead be translated ‘during’, ‘at’, or ‘within’. It does not normally mean "among."
you, -- The word translated as "you" is a plural, second-person pronoun in the genitive case. This pronoun follows the noun so "of yours."
let -- This "let" is the helping verb used to translate the Greek form of the third-person command. In English all commands are in the second-person. This form is used as something like our word "must."
him -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.
first -- The word translated as "first" takes a lot of different types of "first" meanings from its context. Here, it is technically an adjective but it plays the role of the English adverb "initially."
cast -- The word translated as "cast" has a number of meanings revolving around "throw" as we do in English with both "throw" and "toss." It is a third-person command.
a -- There is no indefinite article in Greek, but when a word doesn't have a definite article, the indefinite article can be added in English translation.
stone-- The Greek word translated as "stone" means "a stone," "stone as a substance," and various specific types of stones, such as touchstones and altar stones.
at - (CW) With the objective noun, an accusative, it means of place: "upon or on to a height," "up to," "as far as," "a little way," "a little," "towards," "to," in hostile sense: "against," of extension: "over," "over (a space)," of time: "for," "during," "up to" or "till," in a causal sense: "of (the object)," for (this purpose)," "as regards," "according to," and "by (this cause)." With verbs of perceiving, observing, judging, it means "in the case of." A better translation would be "against" since there is another word that means "at."
her. -- The word translated as "her" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.
Let -- This "let" is the helping verb used to translate the Greek form of the third-person command. In English all commands are in the second-person. This form is used as something like our word "must."
any-- (IW) There is nothing in the Greek that can be translated as "the" in the Greek source.
one -- The word translated as "one" is the Greek definite article, without a noun, it has the sense of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.
of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession. However, it can also mean "belonging to," "part of," "which is," "than" (in comparisons), or "for," "concerning" or "about" with transitive verbs. In references to time, it could instead be translated ‘during’, ‘at’, or ‘within’. It does not normally mean "among."
you, -- The word translated as "you" is a plural, second-person pronoun in the genitive case. This pronoun follows the noun so "of yours."
who is -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "that is" in the Greek source. It was added because the next verb was translated as active rather than as a participle.
without sin - "Is without sin" is from anamartetos, which is an adjective that means "making no mistake", "blameless", "having done no wrong", "unerring", "without fail," and "unfailing."
be the -- (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as "be the" in the Greek source.
first -- The word translated as "first" takes a lot of different types of "first" meanings from its context. Here, it is technically an adjective but it plays the role of the English adverb "initially."
to -- (IW) There is nothing in the Greek that can be translated as "to" in the Greek source. The following verb is not an infinitive.
throw -- The word translated as "throw " has a number of meanings revolving around "throw" as we do in English with both "throw" and "toss." It is a third-person command.
a -- There is no indefinite article in Greek, but when a word doesn't have a definite article, the indefinite article can be added in English translation.
stone-- The Greek word translated as "stone" means "a stone," "stone as a substance," and various specific types of stones, such as touchstones and altar stones.
at - (CW) With the objective noun, an accusative, it means of place: "upon or on to a height," "up to," "as far as," "a little way," "a little," "towards," "to," in hostile sense: "against," of extension: "over," "over (a space)," of time: "for," "during," "up to" or "till," in a causal sense: "of (the object)," for (this purpose)," "as regards," "according to," and "by (this cause)." With verbs of perceiving, observing, judging, it means "in the case of." A better translation would be "against" since there is another word that means "at."
her. -- The word translated as "her" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.
Ὁ [821 verses](article sg masc nom) "He" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
ἀναμάρτητος [1 verse](adj sg masc/fem nom) "That is without sin" is from anamartetos, which is an adjective that means "making no mistake", "blameless", "having done no wrong", "unerring", "without fail," and "unfailing."
ὑμῶν [168 verses](pron 2nd pl gen) "You" is humon, the plural possessive form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you."
πρῶτος ν [41 verses](adj sg masc nom) "First" is protos. In place, this means "before," "in front," and, as a noun, "the foremost." Of time, it means "former," "earlier," and, as a noun, "the initial." In order, it means "the first." In math, it means the prime numbers. Of rank or degree, it means "superior" or, as a noun, "the highest" or "the best."
ἐπ᾽ [138 verses](prep) "At" is from epi which means "on," "upon," "at," "by," "before," "across," and "against." With a noun in the possessive, genitive, it means "upon," "on" but not necessarily of Place, "by (of persons)," "deep (with numbers)," "in the presence of," "towards," "in the time of," and "over (referring to a person of authority)." With a noun indirect object, dative, it means of place: "upon," "on," or "over," of people: "against (in a hostile sense)," regarding a situation: "towards" or "in reference to," of an accumulation: "upon," "after," "addition to," and "besides," of position: "after," "behind," "in dependence upon," and "in the power of," of time: "by," and "after," and. in a causal sense: "of the occasion or cause," "of an end or purpose," "of the condition upon which a thing is done," "on condition that," and "of price."
αὐτὴν [720 verses](adj sg fem acc) "Her" is autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself," "yourself," "himself," "herself," "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him," "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord." In the adverbial form, it means "just here" or "exactly there."
βαλέτω [54 verses](3rd sg aor imperat act) "Cast"s ballo, which means "to throw," "to let fall," "to cast," "to put," "to pour," "to place money on deposit," "push forward or in front [of animals]," "to shed," "to place," "to pay,"to throw [of dice,]" "to be lucky," "to fall," "to lay as foundation," "to begin to form," "to dash oneself with water," and "to bathe."
λίθον [15 verses](noun sg masc acc) "Stone" is lithos, which means "a stone," "stone as a substance," and various specific types of stones, such as touchstones, and altar stones.
The two meanings of "without error" indicating either a perfect person or someone who can throw perfectly.