‘And when they heard it they went away one by one, beginning with the eldest, even to the last, and Jesus was left alone, and the woman where she was, in the midst.'
The original narrator had noted that the eldest was the first to leave. They above all were aware that they dare not claim to be without sin, and perhaps they were a little ashamed and even the more aware of their own guilt. The younger hotheads took a little longer, but in the end they too realised that they had no choice. They accepted the verdict of their elders and also left, leaving the woman ‘alone' without any accusers.