Real Bible Translation

But even as they were remaining those who are questioning himself, he straightened himself back up, and he said to themselves, "The first un-missing/un-sinning one^80b of yourselves, let him found the Stone upon herself."

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
And when they continued asking him, having lifted up the head, he said to them, Let him faultless among you, first cast a stone at her.

LITV Translation:
But as they continued questioning Him, bending back up, He said to them, The one among you without sin, let him cast the first stone at her.

ESV Translation:
And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Footnotes

80b

Strongs NT 361 "ἀναμάρτητος" (anamartétos) is composed of "ἀ" (alpha) as a negative prefix and "ἁμαρτάνω" (hamartanó), meaning "to miss the mark" or "to sin." The literal translation of "ἁμαρτάνω" (hamartanó) is understood literally as "to miss" or "to err," and thus "ἀναμάρτητος" (anamartétos) is rendered as "un-missing" or "not missing the mark." This highlights the concept of what it means to be "faultless" or "unerring", emphasizing the idea of hitting the target "eye" to achieve completion.

Missing the bullseye therefore, means the Whole is in error, and "in the transgression".

Found a stone upon her. There is quite the mix up of grammar among the variety of manuscripts with this verse. The early, authoritative copies (cf. Nestle 1904, also evidenced in the Textus Receptus) has:

Ὁ ἀναμάρτητος ὑμῶν πρῶτος τὸν λίθον ἐπ’ αὐτῇ βαλέτω

Literal Translation:

- Ὁ ἀναμάρτητος ὑμῶν πρῶτος: "The sinless one of you first/the first sinless one of you"
- τὸν λίθον (ton lithon): "The Stone" (accusative singular, definite article + noun, specifying "the stone").
- ἐπ’ αὐτῇ (ep’ autē): "Upon her" (ἐπί + dative feminine pronoun αὐτή, indicating target or location, "on her").
- βαλέτω: "Let him cast."

Literal: "The sinless one of you first the stone upon her let him cast."

The reading changes dramatically from the accusative sense used in other manuscripts (cast a stone at her) to the dative (cast/place a stone on her), depending on which one you choose.

The accusative must be present for the sense of "throw at":

"with acc. of person or thing aimed at, throw so as to hit, hit with a missile,"

(cf. LSJ A.I βάλλω)

With the dative, it takes a different sense of throwing or shooting with:

"c. dat., of the weapon, throw or shoot with a thing"

(cf. LSJ A.II)

A Dative Meaning, Upon Herself

The middle form of βάλλω, beyond its core sense of “to throw,” acquires a range of metaphorical/idiomatic meanings. When βάλλομαι is used in the middle voice with the metaphorical meaning “to lay upon oneself” or “to internalize” (e.g., thoughts, plans, emotions), it is often followed by dative constructions—especially datives of location or instrument—and also by prepositional phrases expressing mental or internal domains. The middle voice is inferred from context.

Of particular note is its use in the sense “to lay as a foundation” or “to begin to construct.” This occurs, for example, in Pindar, Pyth. 7.3 (κρηπῖδα βαλέσθαι, “to lay the base/foundation”) and Plato, Laws 779b (οἰκοδομίας βάλλεσθαι, “to lay the foundation of a building”). The verb here carries the extended metaphor of initiating or establishing something substantial, whether physical or institutional. Similar usage appears in Lucian, Hippias 4, and in Polybius (χαράκα βάλλεσθαι, “to lay out a trench”), as well as in Philostratus (ἱερὸν βάλλεσθαι, “to found a temple”). Thus, βάλλεσθαι can denote not just physical casting but the act of founding, building, or inaugurating.

(cf. LSJ B.4)

The First Sinless One. Grammatically, the phrase ὁ ἀναμάρτητος πρῶτος (nominative masculine singular) is composed of two adjectives functioning together in an attributive construction: ὁ (definite article) + ἀναμάρτητος (“sinless”) + πρῶτος (“first”). Both adjectives agree in case, gender, and number and together modify an implied noun (e.g., “man” or “one”), yielding the literal meaning “the first sinless one.” This structure follows standard Greek syntax in which multiple adjectives governed by a single article may serve jointly to substantivize the phrase. Compare constructions such as ὁ σοφὸς πλούσιος (“the wise rich man”) or ὁ καλὸς νέος (“the handsome young man”).

In the NT, the nominative πρῶτος (prōtos) is very frequently used to express "the first person," and in particular, "the first foundation stone" of Revelation 21:19.