Short answer
No. The story of the woman caught in adultery, John 7:53 to 8:11, is missing from the earliest papyrus copies of John. It is missing from the two oldest surviving Greek Bibles, Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus. No surviving Greek copy from before about AD 400 has it. The later copies that carry it cannot agree where it goes. Most put it after John 7:52, some elsewhere in John, and a few in Luke. That is the mark of a story with no fixed home. Modern Bibles, the NIV among them, say so in a note. Yet "let him first cast a stone" is still read out as the word of God (﷾). Islam's answer is that God (﷾) Himself sent down the Qur'an and promised to guard it.
Full explanation
The story as the King James Version prints it
The King James Version prints the story as part of John with no note. Scribes (men who copied and taught the Law) and Pharisees (a Jewish group strict about the Law) bring a woman taken in adultery to Jesus. They ask what should be done under the Law of Moses. He answers that the one without sin should cast the first stone. He sends her away with the words "go, and sin no more".
“And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?”
“So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”
“She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
What the oldest manuscripts show
The story is absent from the earliest papyri of John (copies on paper made from reeds). It is also absent from Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, two hand-copied Greek Bibles of the fourth century. The New Testament scholar Robert M. Grant notes that no surviving manuscript from before the end of the fourth century contains it. No Greek commentator treats it as part of John until the twelfth century. Even then he notes that the accurate copies lack it. Latin writers knew the story from the late fourth century, when copies of John began to carry it.
On the story of the woman taken in adultery (John 7:53-8:11), reports that it is absent from the early papyri (P66 and P75), from Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus and other early witnesses, and that the manuscripts which do carry it place it in different spots: after John 7:52, after John 7:36, at the end of John, or after Luke 21:38. Concludes that it was no part of the original Gospel of John.
In the chapter on textual criticism, lists passages where textual alteration can be proved. Of the woman taken in adultery: it does not belong to the Gospel of John; it stands in the later Byzantine text, usually as John 7:53-8:11 but sometimes after John 7:36 or 21:24, and in a small group of manuscripts after Luke 21:38; no manuscript before the end of the fourth century contains it. Of Mark 16:9-20 and the heavenly witnesses of 1 John 5:7: they too are no part of what their authors wrote. Grant adds that such additions belong to the history of the Church, not to the New Testament.
Adds that the passage is also absent from the early Syriac and Coptic translations; that no Greek church father before Euthymius Zigabenus in the twelfth century comments on the passage, and that Euthymius himself says the accurate copies do not have it; that its style and vocabulary differ noticeably from the rest of John; and that it breaks the flow between John 7:52 and 8:12. Metzger judges it a piece of oral tradition that circulated in parts of the Western church and was later inserted in various places. He adds that the account has all the earmarks of historical truth.
A story with no fixed home
The later manuscripts that carry the story put it in different places. Some put it after John 7:52, some after John 7:36, some at the end of John, and some after Luke 21:38. Luke 21:37-38 has Jesus spending the night on the Mount of Olives and the people coming to him early in the temple. That closely matches the story's opening lines, and it is where one group of manuscripts puts the story. A passage that the copies place in different spots was not a fixed part of any Gospel.
On the story of the woman taken in adultery (John 7:53-8:11), reports that it is absent from the early papyri (P66 and P75), from Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus and other early witnesses, and that the manuscripts which do carry it place it in different spots: after John 7:52, after John 7:36, at the end of John, or after Luke 21:38. Concludes that it was no part of the original Gospel of John.
In the chapter on textual criticism, lists passages where textual alteration can be proved. Of the woman taken in adultery: it does not belong to the Gospel of John; it stands in the later Byzantine text, usually as John 7:53-8:11 but sometimes after John 7:36 or 21:24, and in a small group of manuscripts after Luke 21:38; no manuscript before the end of the fourth century contains it. Of Mark 16:9-20 and the heavenly witnesses of 1 John 5:7: they too are no part of what their authors wrote. Grant adds that such additions belong to the history of the Church, not to the New Testament.
“Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.”
“And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives. And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him.”
| Place | In which copies |
|---|---|
| Nowhere | The earliest papyri of John, Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus |
| After John 7:52 | Most of the later copies |
| After John 7:36 | Some |
| At the end of John | Some |
| After Luke 21:38 | One group of copies |
The seam in John
Without the story, John reads straight on. The Pharisees tell Nicodemus that no prophet comes out of Galilee, and "then spake Jesus again unto them" follows at once. The story breaks that flow. Its style and vocabulary also differ from the rest of John.
“They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.”
“And every man went unto his own house.”
“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
Adds that the passage is also absent from the early Syriac and Coptic translations; that no Greek church father before Euthymius Zigabenus in the twelfth century comments on the passage, and that Euthymius himself says the accurate copies do not have it; that its style and vocabulary differ noticeably from the rest of John; and that it breaks the flow between John 7:52 and 8:12. Metzger judges it a piece of oral tradition that circulated in parts of the Western church and was later inserted in various places. He adds that the account has all the earmarks of historical truth.
What Christian Bibles now say
The NIV sets the passage apart. Its note says the earliest manuscripts do not have it and that some put it elsewhere, in John or in Luke. The scholars who established this are Christian textual critics (scholars who compare the old copies). The manuscript facts are not in dispute. The great majority of these scholars conclude that the story was not part of John's Gospel as first written.
The NIV prints John 7:53-8:11 set apart from the rest of John, with a note that the earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have it (1984: "the earliest and most reliable manuscripts and other ancient witnesses"). The 2011 note adds that a few manuscripts place the verses, wholly or in part, after John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke 21:38 or Luke 24:53.
On the story of the woman taken in adultery (John 7:53-8:11), reports that it is absent from the early papyri (P66 and P75), from Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus and other early witnesses, and that the manuscripts which do carry it place it in different spots: after John 7:52, after John 7:36, at the end of John, or after Luke 21:38. Concludes that it was no part of the original Gospel of John.
A Book God (﷾) promised to guard
The Qur'an warns against those who write a book with their own hands and then say it is from God (﷾). It says God (﷾) Himself sent down the Qur'an and will guard it from corruption. Muslims hold that every verse of the Qur'an was placed in its surah (chapter) in the lifetime of the Prophet (ﷺ). Those who memorised it recited it in that order.
“Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say:"This is from Allah," to traffic with it for miserable price!- Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.”
“We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption).”
Verse by verse
Augustine, On Adulterous Marriages 2.7 (c. 420)
Augustine says that some men of little faith, fearing that their wives would take it as leave to sin, removed from their copies the Lord's pardon of the adulteress.
Cited for
The story was original, but some early Christians cut it out because they feared it made adultery look light.
The response
Augustine offered this to explain why some copies lacked the story. He gives no evidence that John wrote it. A story cut from John would not turn up again after John 7:36, at the end of John, or in Luke. Nor is the gap found in one region or church only. The earliest Greek copies and the early Syriac and Coptic translations all lack it. No Greek commentator treats it as part of John before the twelfth century.
Where it lands — A removal theory cannot explain why the story turns up in different places, even in Luke. The copies show a story with no fixed home.
John 8:7 — Gospel of John, chapter 8, verse 7
“So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”
Cited for
Even if John did not write it, the story is true to Jesus, and the church has accepted it as scripture.
The response
The question was whether this is John's Gospel as its writer gave it, and the earliest witnesses say it is not. The New Testament scholar Robert M. Grant says passages like this belong to the history of the Church, not to the New Testament.
Where it lands — A story the Gospel writer did not write is not his Gospel, however much it is loved.
Perspectives
Mainstream Christian
Most scholars agree the story was not first written by John. Many hold it records a true event, and churches still read it as scripture.
The early church writer Augustine said some men removed the story from their copies, fearing it would excuse adultery.
Rebuttal
Augustine, writing around the year 420, offered this as a reason why some copies lack the story. He gives no evidence that John wrote it. A story cut out of John would not turn up in other places, even in Luke. The earliest Greek copies and the early Syriac and Coptic translations also lack it.
Many scholars hold the story is an early, true tradition about Jesus. Yet it was not part of John's Gospel.
Rebuttal
Many scholars do say this. But even if the event happened, the story is not John's Gospel as its writer gave it. The earliest copies of John do not have it. Yet churches still read it out as God's (﷾) word.
The Islamic perspective
The story is missing from the earliest copies of John and has no fixed place in later ones. Yet churches have read it as God's (﷾) word for centuries. A book treated this way has not been kept as God's (﷾) word.
The story is missing from the earliest papyri of John and from Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus.
No surviving Greek manuscript from before about AD 400 contains it.
The manuscripts that contain it place it in different spots, some in Luke, which shows it had no fixed place.
John 7:52 runs straight on into John 8:12 without it.
The Qur'an teaches that God (﷾) guards His final revelation from corruption. It condemns writing words by hand and calling them God's (﷾).