They said this to test him, so that they would have grounds to accuse him. But Jesus bent down and began writing on the ground with his finger.
Note. This passage (the woman caught in adultery) is missing from the earliest manuscripts; the tradition preserves it here.
In context
4and said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5In the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6They said this to test him, so that they would have grounds to accuse him. But Jesus bent down and began writing on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept pressing him with questions, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8And bending down again, he went on writing on the ground.
