John 8:9

9. Omit καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς συνειδήσεως ἐλεγχόμενοι after ἀκούσαντες, and ἕως τῶν ἐσχάτων after πρεσβυτέρων (both obvious glosses). Οὖσα for ἑστῶσα.

9. The variations in this verse are considerable, but the substance is the same. Καὶ ὑπὸ τ. συνειδήσεως ἐλεγχόμενοι is probably a gloss like μὴ προσποιούμενος in John 8:6. Another gloss here is ‘understanding His upbraiding.’ Both additions are right as interpretations. The word of God, ‘sharper than any two-edged sword,’ had pierced them and proved ‘a discerner of the thoughts of their hearts’ (Hebrews 4:12).

ἀρξ. ἀπὸ τ. πρεσβυτέρων. The elders in years, not the official Elders. Meyer suggests that the oldest would be shrewd enough to slip away without compromising themselves further: certainly they would have the largest experience of life and its temptations.

μόνος. The multitude may or may not have withdrawn with the woman’s accusers; the disciples probably had not moved. But of the actors in the scene only two were left, she who needed compassion and He who could bestow it: relicti sunt duo, misera et Misericordia (S. Augustine). The woman was in the midst, where the brutality of her accusers had placed her (John 8:3).