John 7:53-8:11
KJV Reading Defended
The account of the woman taken in adultery.
Why the KJV Reading Is Retained
Modern editions commonly bracket or footnote the passage because several early Greek witnesses omit it or relocate it.
Disputed unit
Presence of the story at the standard Johannine location, with relocation, first-hand-blank and deficiency kept as separate states.
Evidence assessment
In the 236-document IGNTP/ITSEE John corpus at John 7:53, 71 documentary entries carry the verse at the standard location, 49 omit it there and 116 are deficient. Codex Bezae is the earliest extant Greek manuscript carrying the story at the Johannine location. Sixteen rows of the official Vetus Latina John synopsis carry it at the normal location, and Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine all treat it as Johannine.
Primary support for the KJV reading
71 entries at the standard location in the selected IGNTP John corpus
King James Bible reading
The passage concerning the woman taken in adultery, Jesus' response, and the saying, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone.
Evidence sources
Sources used for the witnesses, readings, dates, and notes on this page. Complete citations appear in the References section at the end of the page.
Governing apparatus and count scope
The official IGNTP/ITSEE ECM John Greek apparatus, whose corpus is 236 selected documents including 22 supplements, together with the official Vetus Latina John synopsis and the 2021 Sahidic critical edition.
Earliest KJV-supporting evidence
c. AD 110–140 — Papias, related story of a woman accused before the Lord. This is evidence for an early story tradition, not proof of its location in John. Johannine manuscript form: fifth century — Codex D.
Earliest surviving Greek support: Fifth century — Codex D.
Primary support for the KJV reading
The sections below preserve each supporting, competing, and related record under its proper evidence type.
Majority Text standing
Presence of the account of the woman taken in adultery
The passage is present in the overwhelming numerical majority of Greek manuscripts, most commonly at its traditional Johannine location.
Estimated Greek support: Approximately 1,495 Greek manuscripts contain the passage in whole or in part, with about 495 supporting lectionaries
The selected roster separately reports 71 witnesses at the standard location and 49 omissions. Relocated and partial forms remain classified separately.
Source scope and denominator
The official IGNTP/ITSEE ECM John Greek apparatus, whose corpus is 236 selected documents including 22 supplements, together with the official Vetus Latina John synopsis and the 2021 Sahidic critical edition.
Greek support in the cited corpus
71 documentary entries at the standard location in the 236-document IGNTP John corpus
Greek competing evidence in the cited corpus
49 named entries omit at the standard location
Lectionary evidence
495 lectionaries
Principal competing witnesses named in the snapshot
Evidence represented on this page
Greek manuscripts
Represented
Ancient versions
Represented
Church fathers
Represented
Printed editions
No entry listed
Complete source-scoped roster
This roster preserves every named or grouped state recovered in the governing sources, including exact readings, competing readings, corrections, related forms, lacunae, versions, and aggregate traditions. When Maj or Byz appears on the KJV side, it marks the numerically dominant Greek transmission at that unit. The green Majority Text card above supplies the best available passage-specific estimate. The grouped siglum is then retained so it is not mistaken for one individual manuscript.
Apparatus and roster scope
The official IGNTP/ITSEE ECM John Greek apparatus, whose corpus is 236 selected documents including 22 supplements, together with the official Vetus Latina John synopsis and the 2021 Sahidic critical edition.
KJV/TR unit: καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν ἕκαστος εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ
05 07 011 017 028 041 045 0233 1 13 18 35 69-1 69-2C 109 118 124-1 124-2 138 173 209 226 226* 226C 265 346 357 377 382 543 544 579 597 788 792 807 826 828 884 892 983 992 994 1009 1010 1014 1071 1079 1093 1128-1 1219 1278 1293 1319 1320 1344 1463 1546 1561 1571S 1582 1654 1689 1788 1797 2193S 2223 2223r 2372 2561C2 2561C2V 2561C4 2575 2585 2615 2680 2713 2766 2786 2790 2886
Grouped evidence: 71 documentary entries present at the standard location in the selected 236-document corpus
VL2 VL5 VL6 VL7 VL8C VL9A VL11C VL11A VL14 VL15 VL29 VL30 VL33 VL35 VL47 VL48
Grouped evidence: standard Vulgate
P66 P75 01 03 019 022 029 032 033 037 038 044 0141 0211 22 33 69-2* 157 168 213 249 295 333 397 430 565 732 799 821 841 865 869 1029 1128-2 1192 1210 1230 1241 1242 1253 1321 1424 2106 2192 2193 2411 2561* 2718 2768
VL3 VL10 VL13 VL27
225 1128
Grouped evidence: Family 13 after Luke 21:38 · Family 1 and end-of-John forms · 225 and 1128 after John 7:36 · placements after John 8:12, 8:14 and 8:20 · Georgian placements
VL8* VL11*
John 8:9–11 on a Sahidic ostracon
EA21424
P45 VL4
Grouped evidence: 116 deficient documentary entries in the selected corpus
Sahidic proto-Bohairic
Precisely located citations and additional names reported by the controlling apparatus are kept separate. An apparatus-level attribution is not presented as an independently verified exact quotation.
Asia Minor
Reported in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.39.17
Mentions a story of a woman accused before the Lord
Locator: Historia ecclesiastica 3.39.17
Open sourceSyria
Didascalia Apostolorum 7
Knows a similar account of Christ's mercy toward a sinful woman
Locator: Vööbus, CSCO 401–2/407–8, Scriptores Syri 175:92–93 and 176:89
Open sourceAlexandria
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 223.6b–13a
Refers to a story of a woman accused of sin before Jesus
Locator: Kramer and Krebber 1972, folio 223 lines 7–13
Open sourceMilan
Epistle 25.7 and Epistle 26.2
Direct quotation in Epistle 25.7 and Epistle 26.2.
Locator: Epistulae 25.7 and 26.2
Open sourceBethlehem
Against the Pelagians 2.17
Says the passage was found in many Greek and Latin manuscripts
Locator: PL 23:553
Open sourceNorth Africa
De adulterinis coniugiis 2.6.7
Says some removed the passage fearing it encouraged adultery
Open sourceRome
Apparatus-level attribution
The controlling apparatus reports Leo the Great for this reading, but the exact work and section are not identified in the current dossier.
Locator: IGNTP/ITSEE ECM John Greek positive apparatus, John 7:53, whole verse; exact work and section are not separately identified in the current dossier
Open sourceApostolic Constitutions 2.24.6
Derivative use in Apostolic Constitutions 2.24.6. Literary descendant of the Didascalia form; not an independent early stream.
Open sourceRoster distinctions
Evidence notes
Evidence assessment
In the 236-document IGNTP/ITSEE John corpus at John 7:53, 71 documentary entries carry the verse at the standard location, 49 omit it there and 116 are deficient. Codex Bezae is the earliest extant Greek manuscript carrying the story at the Johannine location. Sixteen rows of the official Vetus Latina John synopsis carry it at the normal location, and Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine all treat it as Johannine.
Primary support for the KJV reading
71 entries at the standard location in the selected IGNTP John corpus
Evidence represented on this page
References
Institut für Neutestamentliche Textforschung. New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room. Münster: University of Münster.
Aland, Barbara, et al., eds. Novum Testamentum Graece. 28th rev. ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012.
Robinson, Maurice A., and William G. Pierpont. The New Testament in the Original Greek: Byzantine Textform 2018. Nürnberg: VTR Publications, 2018.
Tyndale House, Cambridge, ed. The Greek New Testament. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017.
IGNTP/ITSEE ECM John Greek positive apparatus. John 7:53, whole verse.
ITSEE Vetus Latina John synopsis. John 7:53.
Förster, Sänger-Böhm and Schulz, Kritische Edition der sahidischen Version des Johannesevangeliums (2021). John 7:53–8:11.
INTF Kurzgefasste Liste / NTVMR manuscript metadata. Physical dates for the named Greek manuscripts.
New Advent Fathers of the Church. Ambrose, Ep. 26.2; Jerome, Adv. Pelag. 2.17.
Augustine, De adulterinis coniugiis. De adulterinis coniugiis 2.6.7.
Schulz, Sahidic ostracon study of the Pericope Adulterae (2021). British Museum ostracon EA 21424, John 8:9–11; Trismegistos date AD 400–899; Askeland's challenge to the identification.
IGNTP/ITSEE ECM John introduction and corpus scope. Selected corpus of 236 Greek manuscripts including 22 supplements.
IGNTP/ITSEE ECM John encoding instructions. Meaning of the state suffixes * C S r V and the -1/-2 entry labels used at John 7:53.
ITSEE Vetus Latina John manuscript register. Identity and physical date of the VL sigla named at John 7:53.
Schulz, proto-Bohairic appendix to the 2021 Sahidic critical edition. Proto-Bohairic marks John 7:53–8:11 deest.