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文士和法利賽人帶著一個行淫時被拿的婦人來，叫她站在當中，就對耶穌說：「夫子，這婦人是正行淫之時被拿的。摩西在律法上吩咐我們把這樣的婦人用石頭打死。你說該把她怎麼樣呢？」他們說這話，乃試探耶穌，要得著告他的把柄。耶穌卻彎著腰，用指頭在地上畫字。他們還是不住地問他，耶穌就直起腰來，對他們說：「你們中間誰是沒有罪的，誰就可以先拿石頭打她。」於是又彎著腰，用指頭在地上畫字。他們聽見這話，就從老到少，一個一個地都出去了，只剩下耶穌一人，還有那婦人仍然站在當中。耶穌就直起腰來，對她說：「婦人，那些人在哪裏呢？沒有人定你的罪嗎？」她說：「主啊，沒有。」耶穌說：「我也不定你的罪。去吧，從此不要再犯罪了！」（約翰福音 8：3-11）
可想這位通姦女子被逮著時，頭髮凌亂、衣冠不整，她一定在驚嚇之餘感到又羞愧又恐慌。如此隱密的不苟行為，竟然一時被暴露在光天化日之下。現在她要面對的是一群鄙視她的旁觀者，他們想先羞辱、嘲弄她、定她的罪，之後，用冷眼目睹她活活的被石頭打死。她不只失去了自己的尊嚴，讓她的家人難看，還要面對殘酷的死刑。這段記載真是令人汗顏。當群眾不停的喧囂、指謫這女子的惡行時，他們要耶穌出來做個公道，耶穌竟然出奇的安靜。只見他一個人蹲在地上用手指畫字，完全漠視周遭之騷動。這跟吵雜的群眾成為一個鮮明的對比。突然，耶穌平靜的抬起頭來，神態凝重，他用溫柔卻堅定的口氣對哄鬧的人群說了一句歷史名言：「你們當中有誰是沒有罪的，就可以先拿石頭打她。」"Cast the first stone" 這句英文諺語的典故就是從約翰福音這一段故事出來的，意思就是“成為第一個批評某人或某事的人”。耶穌此話一出口，喧譁的眾人馬上變得鴉雀無聲。誰敢自認為是無罪的呢？大家心裡有數。這個場景有了戲劇化的轉變。那些原來已經捲起袖管，手上拿著石頭躍躍欲試的群眾，一個個散開、退縮，一直到只剩耶穌單獨面對這位不知所措、處於驚嚇中的女子。耶穌對女子說：「我也不定妳的罪，去吧，從此不要再犯罪了。」這段震撼感人的經文不僅描繪了耶穌慈愛憐憫的心腸與智慧，也提醒讀者，人皆有罪，應當自省，不要瞎眼忙著指責別人，更要學習饒恕。
雖然在整本聖經裏，耶穌和淫婦的故事只有在一處可以找得到──約翰福音7：53 ~ 8：1-11，但它不但成為聖經中最著名的故事之一，而且啟發了幾世紀以來許多傑出藝術家的靈感：如1644年荷蘭畫家林布蘭（Rembrandt ），1620年義大利畫家洛托（Lorenzo Lotto），1620年法國畫家布洛涅（Valentin de Boulogne），1700義大利畫家利奇的學徒（Sebastiano Ricci）... …等，都使用這個故事為題材，畫出生動不朽的名畫。連近代的好萊塢電影都會把這一段故事搬上螢幕。
如果基督徒發現其實這段經文在早期基督教文獻裡幾乎沒有怎麼被引用，會非常訝異而且可能會感到失望，因為現存最早福音書倖存副本中，並沒有耶穌與行淫婦人的記載；也就是說，這一段故事很可能是後來才被人加進去的。事實上，一直到第四世紀，寫在紙莎草（papyrus）古代文獻的聖經手抄本完全找不到這段故事的記錄。最早有這段紀錄的副本是第5世紀的Codex Bezae 希臘/拉丁文手稿，因此，這個故事在拉丁語之文獻中仍有被廣泛引用，然而在講希臘語的基督徒圈子中卻鮮為人知（註：參閱 Jennifer Knust 之“The Woman Caught in Adultery”一文）。雖然杰羅姆（Jerome 約公元 347-420 年）在翻譯他最著名《武加大譯本》（Vulgate 註一）聖經時，他有引用收錄了這段故事，但他也同時公開承認，在約翰福音的一些副本中，確實完全沒有耶穌與行淫婦人的記載。
經過漫長的歷史過程，淫婦的故事最終還是在聖經中獲得一席之地。 其實忠實的希臘文士在抄寫聖經時，經常會在經文旁邊打星號以作 “可能不是原創文本” 的標記。16 世紀時，有許多學者想要複製一本不靠拉丁文譯本的希臘文原著聖經，結果在這製造過程中，他們注意到，在有些早期的手稿裡，竟然完全沒有約翰福音 7：53-8：11之存在，而有些手稿是另用星號標示它這段不在原稿裡。 此外，現代新約文本批評（textual criticism）的專家家跟查詢歷史的資源越來越多（註：請參閱 Bart Ehrman之著作 “製造耶穌 Misquoting Jesus”一書），有不少學者認為既然這段經文在有信譽的早期手稿中遺漏了，應該重新評估是否繼續將這段經文包含在約翰福音中。 但要刪改聖經可不是舉手之勞，所以後來學者們在這方面做了一些最不讓事情混淆的妥協，決定以註腳做彌補。因此我們今天常見的英文翻譯版，如最有名，也最通用的新國際版（NIV），都會看到在經文旁邊有個註腳的標示，解釋這段經文在最可靠的早期手稿中缺失（註二）。中文翻譯的和合本修訂版旁邊也注釋了以下的字樣：「最早的古卷沒有括弧內7：53和8：1-11這段經文；有古卷把它放在約翰福音21：24之後；另有古卷把它放在路加福音21：38之後。」
一般基督徒在唸聖經的時候，比較沒有習慣念註釋上面的小字。就算看到了，可能也只把它當作參考，不會特別在意他的存在。如果今天要將如此刻骨銘心的熟悉故事刪除是不可能的，但是基督徒是否願意尊重歷史，考量行淫婦人故事不存在的可能性？
註一：武大加譯本（Vulgate）是第4世紀晚期由杰羅姆（Jerome）從希伯來文及希臘文翻譯成拉丁語的聖經譯本。他在 382 年受教皇達馬蘇斯一世（Pope Damasus I ）委託，修改羅馬教會使用的拉丁文四福音書。 後來，杰羅姆主動繼續擴大了這項修訂和翻譯的大工程，把大部分的聖經書卷都翻了。
註二：NIV 注釋為“the earliest and most reliable manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53-8:11”（譯：最早和最可靠的手稿和其他古代證據沒有約翰福音 7：53-8：11）
The Adulterous Woman
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said.“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:3-11)
One can only imagine the shame and terror that engulfed the adulterous woman when she was caught in the act. Disheveled and disarrayed, she stood exposed, her indiscretion brought to light in a sudden and shocking manner. Confronted by a crowd of onlookers who held her in contempt, she faced a sea of indifference. Their intentions were clear: they sought to humiliate, mock, condemn, and ultimately stone her to death. In addition to losing her own dignity, she had shamed her family. The scene depicted in this narrative is both cringe-worthy and poignant.
While the crowd continued to hurl accusations and clamor for her punishment, they expected Jesus to dispense justice. Yet, Jesus remained unfazed and surprisingly silent. He knelt down, tracing his fingers across the ground, wholly detached from the surrounding chaos. This silence contrasted sharply with the raucous noise around him. Suddenly, Jesus looked up, his demeanor dignified and composed. He spoke with gentle but unwavering authority to the turbulent assembly, saying, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." The moment those words left his lips, the crowd fell silent. Who among them could claim innocence? They knew better. The ensuing scene was an unexpected and dramatic twist. Without uttering a word, the individuals who had been ready to cast the first stone, their hands poised and their intentions clear, began to disperse, leaving Jesus alone with the bewildered and terrified woman. Jesus said to her, "I don't condemn you either. Go and sin no more."
This scripture not only highlights Jesus's compassion and wisdom but also serves as a reminder that all have sinned, encouraging introspection rather than hasty judgment of others.
Although the story of Jesus and the adulterous woman appears only once in the Bible (John 7:53-8:11), it has become one of the most iconic passages. It has inspired countless artists over the centuries, from Rembrandt's "The Woman Taken in Adultery" (1644) to Lorenzo Lotto's "The Woman Taken in Adultery" (1620) and modern Hollywood adaptations.
Christians might find it surprising, and perhaps even disappointing, to learn that this passage received scant citation in early Christian literature. The earliest surviving copies of the Gospels made no reference to Jesus and the adulterous woman; it's likely that this section of the story was added later. Up until the fourth century, the story was absent from Bible manuscripts written on papyrus. The earliest known copy of this account is the 5th-century Greek/Latin manuscript Codex Bezae, causing the story to be widely cited in Latin texts but less known in Greek-speaking Christian circles (See Jennifer Knust's work "The Woman Caught in Adultery"). Despite being included by Jerome (circa 347-420 CE) in his renowned Vulgate translation of the Bible (see note 1), he openly acknowledged that in certain copies, the story of Jesus and the adulteress woman was missing from the book of John.
This story was officially incorporated into the Bible after an extensive historical process. In ancient times, meticulous Greek scribes and Bible translators often placed asterisks next to scriptures as indicators of passages "probably not in the original text" when absent in some copies. Over time, scholars endeavored to reconstruct a Greek original Bible independent of Latin translations in the 16th century. Their efforts unveiled that John 7:53-8:11 existed in some early manuscripts, while asterisks marked its absence in others. As the number of modern New Testament textual criticism experts and historical sources grew (Note: For more information, consult Bart Ehrman's book "Misquoting Jesus"), many scholars now believe that due to its omission from reputable early manuscripts, reconsideration is due regarding its inclusion in the Gospel of John. However, due to the challenge of altering or revising the Bible, scholars ultimately opted for the least convoluted compromise, offering footnotes for clarity. Thus, in present-day English translations such as the widely used New International Version (NIV), a footnote like the following accompanies the text to explain its omission from early manuscripts: [The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not contain John 7:53—8:11. A few manuscripts include these verses, wholly or in part, after John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke 21:38 or Luke 24:53.]
When engaging with the Bible, Christians commonly neglect the fine print in the commentaries. And if they do come across it, it's often treated as a reference rather than a central message, leading to less concern. While erasing deeply ingrained stories would be impossible today, Perhaps Christians could consider honoring historical integrity and pondering the possibility that the story of the adulterous woman might not, in fact, exist.
Note 1: The Vulgate is a late-fourth-century Latin translation of the Bible from Hebrew and Greek by Jerome. In 382 AD, he was commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the four Latin Gospels used by the Church of Rome. Later, Jerome took the initiative to continue and expand this monumental project of revision and translation, completing the majority of the Bible's books.
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