Revelation 22:19

From Textus Receptus

Current revision

• ΑΠΟΚΑΛΥΨΙΣ ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ 22:19 Καὶ ἐάν τις ἀφαιρῇ ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων βίβλου τῆς προφητείας ταύτης, ἀφαιρήσει ὁ θεὸς τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ βίβλου τῆς ζωῆς, καὶ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἁγίας, καὶ τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν βιβλίῳ τούτῳ.

(Textus Receptus, Novum Testamentum, Theodore Beza, 5th major edition. Geneva. 1598)

• Revelation 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

(King James Version, Pure Cambridge Edition 1900)

• Revelation 22:19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

(King James Version 2016 Edition, 2016) - buy the revised and updated printed 2023 Edition New Testament here

Interlinear

Commentary

Revelation 22:18-19 is the last in a long chain of warnings against changing the words of God. It supports the doctrine of perfect textual preservation.

Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. (Deuteronomy 4:2)

These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me. (Deuteronomy 5:22)

Ye shall not add unto”, or “He added no more” speaks of the boundary of scripture.

Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. ” (Proverbs 30:5–6)

And if any man/anyone

(Καὶ ἐάν τις)

The protasis is introduced by ἐάν, "if".

take away from the words of the book

of this prophecy

God shall take away

Part

It must be noted that this scripture does not emphatically say a person can have their name blotted out of the Book of Life, but rather that a persons part will be blotted out. Oftentimes the word "part" is interchanged with the word "name" when this verse is quoted.

• Matthew 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion [μέρος "meros"] with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

• Luke 12:46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion [μέρος "meros"] with the unbelievers.

• John 13:8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part [μέρος "meros"] with me.

• Acts 23:9 And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part [μέρος "meros"] arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.

• Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part [μέρος "meros"] in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

• Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part [μέρος "meros"] in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Book of Life

βίβλου τῆς ζωῆς or ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς?

Book of Life or Tree of Life?

...God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and ... (KJV) King James Version

...God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and ... (NIV) New International Version

...God will remove that person's share in the tree of life and ... (NLT) New Living Translation

...God will take away his share in the tree of life and ... (ESV) English Standard Version

This is another rare place where the Textus Receptus Greek readings are in the minority. It must be remembered that multiple readings in the Critical Greek Text are based upon minority readings. Usually the people trying to expose "error" in the Textus Receptus and versions based upon it will not use the same standards when examining their own favored texts where minority readings occur in abundance.

Is there an internal inconsistency in the bible in the reading if the words "tree of life" are to be considered genuine? Will some in eternity have eternal access to heaven but be removed from the tree of life? No, you cannot have one without the other. Access to the tree of life is through having your name in the Book of Life. What is being removed from the book of life but eternal damnation? Also the result of "taking away from the words of the prophecy" would result in eternal punishment. Critical Text proponents that usually argue that no doctrine is changed, but many times doctrines are changed, but in this case it is weakened. "Tree" and "book" are not synonyms.

"Book of life" appears seven times in the NT, six of these in Revelation, always with clear, specific reference to reading or writing. The reading "tree of life" appears four times in the NT, all of them in Revelation, never with reference to reading/writing. The first two clearly refer to fruit-bearing and eating, and it is clear from the context that these actions obviously pertain to plants. The second two references (Rev.22:14, 19) refer to the "right to" and having "part in" the tree of life. Although the language isn't specifically about vegetation generally, it is distinctly uncharacteristic of the context of writing used in all the references to "book of life".

Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. Exodus 32:32

Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. Psalm 69:28

Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. Luke 10:20

And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life. Philippians 4:3

He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. Revelation 3:5

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Revelation 13:8

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. Revelation 20:12

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15

And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. Revelation 21:27

And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. Revelation 22:19

The popular consensus is that the Latin “de ligno vitae” (from the tree of life) was changed into “de libro vitae” (from the book of life), but the reverse of that most probably occurred.

ligno (tree)

libro (book)

Can a “part” be taken from a tree?

The verse contains a conditional sentence with “if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy” being the antecedent (or protasis), and the three consequences, called the consequent (or apodosis) which are (1) “God shall take away his part out of the book of life, (2) and out of the holy city, (3) and from the things which are written in this book.”

Book and Tree looks similar in Latin and Greek:

ΒΙΒΛΟΥ book

ΞΥΛΟΥ tree

Irenaeus

Irenaeus wrote in Against Heresies, Book V. Chapter XXXV:

(3) For after the times of the kingdom, he says, "I saw a great white throne, and Him who sat upon it, from whose face the earth fled away, and the heavens; and there was no more place for them."(4) And he sets forth, too, the things connected with the general resurrection and the judgment, mentioning "the dead, great and small." "The sea," he says, "gave up the dead which it had in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead that they contained; and the books were opened. Moreover," he says, "the book of life was opened, and the dead were judged out of those things that were written in the books, according to their works; and death and hell were sent into the lake of fire, the second death."(5) Now this is what is called Gehenna, which the Lord styled eternal fire.(6) "And if any one," it is said, "was not found written in the book of life, he was sent into the lake of fire." [1]

Against Heresies: - Book V Chapter XV

we at once perceive that the Creator (Demiurgo) is in this passage represented as vivifying our dead bodies, and promising resurrection to them, and resuscitation from their sepulchres and tombs, conferring upon them immortality also (He says, "For as the tree of life, so shall their days be"

Against Heresies: Book V Chapter XXXIV

For as the days of the tree of life shall be the days of the people in thee; for the works of their hands shall endure."(1)

Old Latin

Old Latin mss contain the word book.

Bohairic Coptic

Bohairic Revelation 22:19

Bohairic Coptic mss contain the word book. Concerning the Date of the Bohairic Version, by H. C. Hoskier in 1911, has:

ibid. του ξυλου pro βίβλου sec. א‎AB and most (with sah) but

copt holds to “book” (πϫωμ) with textus receptus and

exceedingly few Greeks but some Latins.

Here Latin and Coptic come very strong against Sah

and Greek. But sah (Goussen) really writes ϢΗΝ not

ϢΕ = hortus ? or silva arbortum, rather than ξυλον.

(Concerning the Date of the Bohairic Version - H. C. Hoskier - 1911)

Latin Vulgate

The Vulgate was translated from Greek and both it and the Greek from which it was translated are older than anything else still around. Jerome started work the Vulgate in 382 A.D. So the Vulgate is still an early witness to underlying Greek manuscripts. Jerome was clear that he was updating the Old Latin using early "fountainhead" Greek manuscripts.

Libro (book) is the reading of the Latin mss. Codex Fuldensis (sixth century); Codex Karolinus (ninth century); Codex Oxoniensis (twelfth to thirteenth century); Codex Ulmensis (ninth century); Codex Uallicellanus (ninth century); Codex Sarisburiensis (thirteenth century); and the corrector of Codex Parisinus (ninth century)."

Ambrose

The reading "book of life" appears to have been common in the Latin stream from early times. The text of Ambrose (4th century) in De Paradiso, Book One, c. 12 reads as the Textus Receptus:

"Nam si Joannes hoc judicavit de suis scriptis: Si quis apposuerit, inquit, ad hoc, adjiciet in illum Deus plagas, quae scriptae sunt in libro isto: et qui dempserit de verbis his prophetiae hujus, delebit Deus partem illius de libro vitae" (Migne, Patrologia Latina, vol. 14, p. 320)

Ambrose also appears to allude to the reading of "book of life" in On the Holy Spirit. In expressing concern about a passage removed by Arians, Ambrose says that the act of removing the words from Scripture has caused those Arians themselves to be "blotted out" from the "book of life". He writes in Book III, chapter 10 of On the Holy Spirit:

"Nor does the Scripture in this place alone bear witness to the qeoths ,that is, the Godhead of the Holy Spirit; but also the Lord Himself said in the Gospel: "The Spirit is God." Which passage you, Arians, so expressly testify to be said concerning the Spirit, that you remove it from your copies, and would that it were from yours and not also from those of the Church! For at the time when Auxentius had seized the Church of Milan with the arms and forces of impious unbelief, the Church of Sirmium was attacked by Valens and Ursatius, when their priests [i.e. bishops] failed in faith; this falsehood and sacrilege of yours was found in the ecclesiastical books. And it may chance that you did the same in the past.

And you have indeed been able to blot out the letters, but could not remove the faith. That erasure betrayed you more, that erasure condemned you more; and you were not able to obliterate the truth, but that erasure blotted out your names from the book of life." (http://www.kjvtoday.com/home/book-of-life-or-tree-of-life-in-revelation-2219)

Andreas of Caesarea in Cappadocia

Andreas of Caesarea in Cappadocia (5th or 6th century) was a Greek theological writer and bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia. His principal work is a commentary on the Book of Revelation (Patrologia Graeca CVI, 215-458, 1387-94). It is the oldest surviving commentary on that book of the Bible, and a primary source, from which most of its later commentators have drawn. Andreas stands out from the majority of Byzantine commentators by his extensive acquaintance with early patristic literature.

We do have an Andreas reference given in Horae Apocalypticae, by Edward Bishop Elliott. Vol.4 (1852)

In his concluding summary Andreas states very distinctly his view of the Apocalypse being a prophecy of the things that were to happen from Christ’s first coming even to the consummation. In the section of Revelation 22:18-19 Andreas comments on the sin of adding to, or taking from divine Scripture, and he understands the passage as referring not only to the book of Apocalypse but to the whole revealed counsel of God. Notice how he quotes Revelation 22:18-19.

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: (19) And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

Primasius of Hadrumetum

The text of Primasius of Hadrumetum (6th century) also has "book of life". Commentariorum super Apocalypsim, which drew from the Revelation commentary by Tyconius (4th century), reads:

Si quis addiderit ad haec, adjiciet Deus super cum plagas scriptas in libro hoc. Et si quis dempserit, adimt Dominus partem ejus de libro vitae, et de civitate sancta, et de his quae scripta in libro hoc. (Migne, Patrologia Latina, vol. 68, p. 934)

"he was called with other bishops to Constantinople and took part in the Three Chapters Controversy.... While at Constantinople, Primasius studied the exegesis of the Greeks, and his fame is chiefly due to his commentary on Revelation." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primasius_of_Hadrumetum)

Bohairic Coptic

Revelation 22:19 in the Bohairic Coptic Translation

Revelation 22:19 in the Bohairic Coptic Translation (in English)

The Bohairic Coptic version (937-1220, c. 1220.) has πϫωμ (book) here in Revelation 22:19.

Haimo Halberstadensis

Revelation 22:19 Haimo Halberstadensis

The text of German bishop Haimo of Halberstad (9th century) also has "book of life":

Et si quis diminuerit de verbis hujus libri prophetiae vel sensum, vel etiam verba contra suam conscientiam, sicut Arius fecit ex Evangelio, ut praedictum est, auferet Deus partem ejus de libro vitae, id est in memoria prescientie Dei non scribetur. (Migne, Patrologia Latina, vol. 117, p. 1220)

Erasmus

Here are Erasmus's own words, from his Annotationes, page 675 (Full title: In Novum Testamentum annotationes, ab ipso autore iam quartum recognitae, & ex Graecis codicibus quos postea nactus est auctario neutiquam poenitendo locupletatae):

Quamquam in calce huius libri nonnulla verba reperi apud nostros quae aberant in Graecis exemplaribus; [B]ea tamen ex latinis adiecimus.

In English:

However, at the end of this book, I found some words in our versions which were lacking in the Greek copies, but we added them from the Latin.

Some more of Erasmus's own words, from his Responsio ad annotationes Eduardi Lei (“Answer to Edward Lee’s Annotations”), page 278:

Dubium non erat quin essent omissa, et erant perpauca. Proinde nos, ne hiaret lacuna, ex nostris Latinis supplevimus Graeca. Quod ipsum tamen noluimus latere lectorem, fassi in annotationibus quid a nobis esset factum ut, si quid dissiderent verba nostra ab his quae posuisset autor huius operis, lector nactus exemplar restitueret. ... Et tamen hoc ipsum non eramus ausuri in Euangeliis, quod hic fecimus, ac ne in epistolis quidem apostolicis. Huius libri sermo simplicissimus est, et argumentum fere historicum, ne quid dicam, de autore olim incerto. Postremo locus hic coronis tantum est operis.

In English:

There was no doubt that the words had been omitted, and they were only a few. To avoid leaving a lacuna [gap] in my text, I supplied the Greek out of our Latin version. I did not want to conceal this from the reader, however, and admitted in the annotations what I had done. My thought was that the reader, if he had access to a manuscript, could correct anything in our words that differed from those put by the author of this work. ... And yet I would not have dared to do in the Gospels or even in the apostolic Epistles what I have done here. The language of this book is very simple, and the content has mostly a historical sense, not to mention that the authorship was once uncertain. Finally, this passage is merely the conclusion of the work.

Erasmus's own words, from his Apologia qua respondet duabis inuectiuis Eduardi Lei (“Defense which responds to Edward Lee’s two invectives”), pages 54-55:

In calce Apocalypsis in exemplari quod tum nobis (erat unicum, nam is liber apud Graecos rarus est inventu), deerat unus atque alter versus. Eos nos addidimus, secuti Latinos codices. Et erant eiusmodi ut ex his quae praecesserant possent reponi. Cυm igitur Basileam mitterem recognitum exemplar, scripsi amicis ut ex aeditione Aldina restituerunt eum locum. Nam mihi nondum emptum erat hoc opus. Id ita, ut iussi, factum est. Queso, quid hic debetur Leo? An ipse quod deerat restituit? Atqui nullum habebat exemplar nisi meum. Sed admonuit. Quasi vero non hoc testatus sim in prioribus annotationibus, quid illic egissem et quid desyderarem.

In English:

At the end of the Apocalypse, the manuscript I used (I had only one, for the book is rarely found in Greek) was lacking one or two lines. I added them, following the Latin codices. They were of the kind that could be restored out of the preceding text. Thus, when I sent the revised copy to Basel, I wrote to my friends to restore the place out of the Aldine edition; for I had not yet bought that work. They did as I instructed them. What, I ask you, do I owe to Lee in this case? Did he himself restore what was missing? But he had no text except mine. Ah, but he warned me! As if I had not stated in the annotations of the first edition what I had done and what was missing.

John Gill

John Gill said in his commentary:

God shall take away his part out of the book of life; by which is meant eternal election, which is the meaning of the phrase throughout this book, in which whoever are written shall certainly be saved. The worshippers of the beast, or the antichristian party, who are chiefly regarded here, are not written in it, Revelation 13:8 wherefore taking away the part of such, is only taking away that which they seemed to have; see Luke 8:18. "Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have" and the sense is, that such shall be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death, and will be the portion of all that are not written in the book of life, Revelation 20:15. The Alexandrian copy, one of Stephens's, and the Complutensian edition, read, "the tree of life".

Gill stated that "one of Stephen's" reads tree of life. In other words, other manuscripts that Stephens employed contained "the book of life" in Revelation 22:19, and there were at least 16 manuscripts employed by Stephanus.

Latter Marginal Note Added to KJV

One of the additional textual marginal notes added in the standard 1762 Cambridge edition of the KJV is the one at Revelation 22:19 as found in the 2005 New Cambridge Paragraph Bible:

“Or, from the tree of life” (p. 1868).

Oxford KJV editions printed in 1810, 1821, 1835, 1857, 1865, 1868, and 1885, and Cambridge KJV editions printed in 1769, 1872, and 1887 have this same marginal note.

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the New Testament also comments on the meaning of Revelation 22:19 and the reading "book of life".

"God shall take away his part out of the book of life. Perhaps there is here an intimation that this would be most likely to be done by those who professed to be Christians, and who supposed that their names were in the book of life. In fact, most of the corruptions of the sacred Scriptures have been attempted by those who have professed some form of Christianity. Infidels have but little interest in attempting such changes, and but little influence to make them received by the church. It is most convenient for them, as it is most agreeable to their feelings, to reject the Bible altogether. When it said here that "God would take away his part out of the BOOK of life," the meaning is not that his name had been written in that book, but that he would take away the part which he might have had, or which he professed to have in that book. Such corruption of the Divine oracles would show that they had no true religion, and would be excluded from heaven. On the phrase "book of life," See Barnes "Revelation 3:5".

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke comments on Revelation 22:19 and "book of life" saying:

Verse 19. If any man shall take away - "If any man shall lessen this meaning, curtail the sense, explain away the spirit and design, of these prophecies, God shall take away his part out of the BOOK of life, consider this book to beware of indulging their own conjectures concerning it. I confess that this warning has its own powerful influence upon my mind, and has prevented me from indulging my own conjectures concerning its meaning, or of adopting the conjectures of others. These visions and threatenings are too delicate and awful a subject to trifle with, or even to treat in the most solemn manner, where the meaning is obscure. I must leave these things to time and event, the surest interpreters. No jot or tittle of Christ's word shall fall to the ground; all shall have its fulfilment in due time."

Scrivener

A plain introduction to the criticism of the New Testament says:

As Apoc. 1 was mutilated in the last six verses, Erasmus turned these into Greek from the Latin; and some portions of his self-made version, which are found (however some editors may speak vaguely) in no one known Greek manuscript whatever, still cleave to our received text ^. Besides this scanty roll, however, he not rarely refers in his Annotations to other manuscripts he had seen in the course of his travels (e. g. on Heb. i. 3 ; Apoc. i. 4 ; viii. 13), yet too indistinctly for his allusions to be of much use to critics. Some such readings, as alleged by him, have not been found elsewhere (e. g. Acts xxiv. 23 ; Rom. xii. 20), and may have been cited loosely from distant recollection (comp. Col. iii. 3 ; Heb. iv. 13 ; 3 Pet. iii. 1 ; Apoc. ii. 18).

A plain introduction to the criticism of the New Testament for the use of Biblical students by Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose, 1813-1891; Miller, Edward, 1825-1901

Herman C. Hoskier

Revelation 22:19 in Hoskier's Concerning the text of the Apokalypse

Herman Hoskier listed 3 minuscules with "book of life":

1) 57 (296) 16th century;

2) 119 (1075) 14th century; and

3) 141 (2049) 16th century

(Concerning the Text of the Apocalypse. 2 vols. - London: Bernard Quaritch, Ltd., 1929). Although 2 of the 4 known Greek witnesses could have been back translated from a printed Textus Receptus, at least 2 of them pre-date the Textus Receptus.

Bruce Metzger

Instead of ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου, the Textus Receptus (followed by the King James Version) reads ἀπὸ βίβλου, a reading that occurs in no Greek Manuscript. Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, 2nd edition (Stuttgart: Deustche Bibelgesellschaft, 1994)p 690

Edward Hills

Edward Hills in his book The King James Version Defended says concerning Revelation 22:19:

Rev. 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life. According to Hoskier, all the Greek manuscripts, except possibly one or two, read, tree of life. The Textus Receptus reads, book of life, with the Latin Vulgate (including the very old Vulgate manuscript F), the Bohairic version, Ambrose (d. 397), and the commentaries of Primasius (6th century) and Haymo (9th century). This is one of the verses which Erasmus is said to have translated from Latin into Greek. But Hoskier seems to doubt that Erasmus did this, suggesting that he may have followed Codex 141. (19)

Jack Moorman

Jack Moorman, in his book "When the KJV Departs from the 'Majority' Text", says the reading of "book of life" is also found in the Coptic Boharic, the Arabic, the Speculum, Pseudo-Agustine and written as such in the Latin of Adrumentum 552, Andreas of Cappadocia, 614 Haaymo, Halberstadt, Latin 841. "Book of life" is found in the Greek manuscripts of # 296, 2049, and in the margin of 2067.

Thomas Holland

On Thomas Holland states on http://wilderness-cry.net/bible_study/courses/mssevidence/lesson10.html:

The objection here is cited by Dr. Jack Lewis, "No known Greek manuscript reads "book of life" in Revelation 22:19; the manuscripts have "tree of life"."(Lewis, 43.). Lewis is correct in asserting that the majority of Greek manuscripts read "tree of life" instead of "book of life." However, he is incorrect in stating that there are no known Greek manuscripts which read "book of life." It is found in the Greek manuscripts noted by H. C. Hoskier as 57 and 141. Nor is Lewis correct in assuming that there is no other textual evidence for the reading.

The Latin reads, "et si quis diminuerit de uerbis libri prophetiae huius auferet deus partem eius de ligno uitae et de ciuitate sancta et de his quae scripta sunt in libro isto." The word "libri" means "book" and is where we derive our English word "library." This is true of not only the Vulgate, but also of Codex Fuldensis (sixth century); Codex Karolinus (ninth century); Codex Oxoniensis (tweth to thirteenth century); Codex Ulmensis (ninth century); Codex Uallicellanus (ninth century); Codex Sarisburiensis (thirteenth century); and the corrector of Codex Parisinus (ninth century). It is also the reading of the Old Bohairic Coptic Version. Further, it is supported by Saint Ambrose (340-397 AD), by Bachiarius (late fourth century), and by Primasius in his commentary on Revelation (552 AD).

Geneva Bible:

And if any man shal diminish of the wordes of the boke of this prophecie, God shal take away his parte out of the Boke of life, and out of the holie citie, and from those things which are writen in his boke.

Reina-Valera:

Y si alguno quitare de las palabras del libro de esta profecia, Dios quitara su parte del libro de la vida, y de la santa ciudad, y de las cosas que estan escritas en este libro.

Perhaps we should consider these words and their meaning. Scholarship is a noble and honorable carrier. However, it ceases to be both when it seeks to userp the authority of the Lord God in the keeping of His words by carelessly correcting what He has preserved. The final Scholar and Critic is God Himself. Certainly one should take note of His textual choices. Or else, by correcting His word, one could find himself the omission from the Text.

Gail Riplinger

Gail Riplinger commented on this verse in her book In Awe of Thy Word, page 981:

William Combs pretends that the last six verses of Revelation” contain “errors in the KJV. He blindly claims, They have no Greek manuscript support whatsoever (William Combs, Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal, Erasmus and the Textus Receptus, Spring 1996, p. 47). The KJVs book of life is in Greek Manuscripts 051, 296, 2049, 2067 mg, as well as in the ancient Coptic and Arabic Bibles.

Herman Hoskier, the pre-eminent collator of the manuscripts of Revelation, said Erasmus did not take this reading from the Latin, but from Greek Manuscript 2049 or 141. It is also in Andreas manuscripts.

Combs assertions dissolve when one looks in any critical apparatus. (Please check: von Soden, Tischendorfs 8th edition, Nestle-Aland 26th edition, Alford, United Bible Societies, Metzgers Textual Commentary, Hoskier: Revelation, Charles: Revelation.

See Hoskiers Concerning the Text of the Apocalypse. If the reader cannot access the cited critical editions, J. Moormans book, When the KJV Departs from the [false] Majority Text of Hodges-Farstad, contains this and much additional information. It is available from A.V. Publications.

Contrary to Combs footnoted list of KJV errors: • The word ”and” is in Rev. 22:16 in MSS 296 and 2066 and 17 of Hoskiers Greek cursives. •

The second ”and” is also in Rev. 22:17 in Greek MSS 209, 218, 254, 296, 1894, 2049, 2050, 2066, 2075, 2321, as well as in the ancient Syriac, Coptic, Arminian, and Arabic Bibles.

In Rev. 22:18 ”for” is in Greek MS 2066 and 8 of Hoskiers cursives, as well as the ancient Coptic and Ethiopic Bibles.

“And from the things which are written in this book” is in Rev. 22:19 in Greek MS 296, 2049 and the ancient Arabic Bible.

Finally, ”you” is in Rev. 22:21 in Greek manuscript 296, 2050, 2066, and 15 of Hoskiers cursives, as well as in the ancient Ethiopic Bible.

Steven Avery

Steven Avery's research on this verse has shown that church writer references that support the reading "book of life" are:

Ambrose (c 390 AD)

Bachiarius (c 420)

Andreas of Cappadocia (c 500)

Primasius of Adrumentum (552 AD) - Commentary on Revelation

Speculum treatise (mss c. 8th century, many consider as Augustine 427 AD origin)

Haymo of Halberstadt (9th century) - Commentary on Revelation

Pseudo-Augustine (1160)

Among the ancient Bible versions that also support "book of life" are the following:

Bohairic Coptic

Old Latin line

Latin Vulgate (some read "book" and others have "tree") auferet Deus partem ejus de libro vitæ, et de civitate sancta,

Syriac

Armenian

Ethiopic

Arabic

Tepl

Latin Manuscripts

Codex Fuldensis (~ A.D. 545)

Codex Karolinus (9th century);

Codex Ulmensis (9th century);

Codex Uallicellanus (9th century);

corrector of Codex Parisinus (9th century)

Codex Oxoniensis (12th to 13th century)

Codex Sarisburiensis (thirteenth century)

NET Bible Notes

NET bible notes on the subject:

tc The Textus Receptus, on which the KJV rests, reads “the book” of life (ἀπὸ βίβλου, apo biblou) instead of “the tree” of life. When the Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus translated the NT he had access to no Greek mss for the last six verses of Revelation. So he translated the Latin Vulgate back into Greek at this point. As a result he created seventeen textual variants which were not in any Greek mss. The most notorious of these is this reading. It is thus decidedly inauthentic, while “the tree” of life, found in the best and virtually all Greek mss, is clearly authentic. The confusion was most likely due to an intra-Latin switch: The form of the word for “tree” in Latin in this passage is ligno; the word for “book” is libro. The two-letter difference accounts for an accidental alteration in some Latin mss; that “book of life” as well as “tree of life” is a common expression in the Apocalypse probably accounts for why this was not noticed by Erasmus or the KJV translators. (This textual problem is not discussed in NA27.)

Jan Krans

Dutch scholar Jan Krans (VU University, Amsterdam) has written a 19pp. refutation of the KJVO claims made by Thomas Holland in his book, Crowned with Glory, regarding the "tree of life"/"book of life" reading of Rev. 22:19.

Abstract:

"With Thomas Holland's lengthy discussion of a reading in Rev 22:19 as an example, this article shows how Holland’s way of doing New Testament textual criticism falls short on all academic standards. With respect to the main issue, Erasmus’ retranslation of the final verses of Revelation, Holland fails to properly find, address and evaluate both primary and secondary sources."

http://evangelicaltextualcriticism.blogspot.com/

http://rosetta.reltech.org/TC/v16/Krans2011.pdf

Krans characterizes Holland's work as a "sloppy (lack of) scholarship" (p.6) and openly calls Holland's academic qualifications into question (p.1, n.1) and chooses to "refrain from using the title 'Dr.' which he [Holland] himself consistently uses."

But strangely Krans rejects evidence from early Latin fathers by saying:

"Are these Greek or Latin fathers and commentators? And if they are Latin, do they depend on the Vulgate for their text? And if this is conceivable, why count them as 'evidence' for the reading 'book of life'?" - Textualcriticism list, July 24, 2006.

But this is clearly stacking the evidence, as it is easily proven that early Latin writers were conversant also in Greek, and vice versa, and would have gladly used either Greek or Latin bibles. Also, any Latin quotes before 500 would most represent the Old Latin manuscripts rather than the Vulgate.

Krans states concerning Erasmus:

For Revelation, he based his Greek text on a single manuscript, minuscule 1r (now numbered 2814 according to the new Gregory-Aland number).2 This manuscript, however, lacks the final verses of the book, and in order to have a complete text, Erasmus retranslated these verses into Greek from the Latin. Elements of his retranslation survive in every edition of the so-called Textus Receptus, the standard text of the printed Greek New Testament until the nineteenth century.

Erasmus states more than once, as demonstrated infra, that he had several “copies” (“exemplars”) of even the scarcest text, the Apocalypse. For the latter, in at least one instance, he identifies his source: viz. the unpublished Aldine edition in Venice, which was based on manuscripts differing, in parts, from those drawn on by Erasmus for his first edition. In that instance a reading was obtained, on Erasmus’ instructions, by his co-editors in Basle, either in person, or by correspondence, from the Aldus printers. The exemplars mentioned by Erasmus were most probably, therefore, either his own copies of the “oldest and most correct” manuscripts, or those of his illustrious co-editors, supplementing the four original documents referred to supra. An example of the former is Erasmus’ “revised copy” (recognitum exemplar) of the text of the Apocalypse obtained from the Reuchlin codex which he sent to Basle to his co-editors, along with the instructions to procure from the Aldine edition the one reading he was missing. [2]

Erasmus said in his own words:

At the end of the Apocalypse, the manuscript I used (I had only one, for the book is rarely found in Greek) was lacking one or two lines. I added them, following the Latin codices. They were of the kind that could be restored out of the preceding text. Thus, when I sent the revised copy to Basel, I wrote to my friends to restore the place out of the Aldine edition; for I had not yet bought that work. They did as I instructed them. What, I ask you, do I owe to Lee in this case? Did he himself restore what was missing? But he had no text except mine. Ah, but he warned me! As if I had not stated in the annotations of the first edition what I had done and what was missing.

Krans' biased Latin translation

On pages 55-56 Krans offers a translation of Erasmus that is different from scholar Erika Rummel.

The Latin in Krans' book:

"Dubium non erat quin essent omissa, et erant perpauca. Proinde nos, ne hiaret lacuna, ex nostris Latinis supplevimus Graeca. Quod ipsum tamen noluimus latere lectorem, fassi in annotationibus quid a nobis esset factum ut, si quid dissiderent verba nostra ab his quae posuisset autor huius operis, lector nactus exemplar restitueret. ... Et tamen hoc ipsum non eramus ausuri in Euangeliis, quod hie fecimus, ac ne in epistolis quidem apostolicis. Huius libri sermo simplicissimus est, et argumentum fere historicum, ne quid dicam, de autore olim incerto. Postremo locus hie coronis tantum est operis" (Resp. ad annot. Ed. Lei, ASD IX-4, p. 278 11. 35-39.39-43; cf. p. 120 11. 303-304 and Apolog. resp. inuect. Ed. Lei, ASD IX-4, pp. 54-55 11. 894-914).

Jan Krans:

There was no doubt that some things were missing, and it was not much. Therefore we completed the Greek from our Latin texts, so that there might be no gap. We did not want to hide this from the reader, however, and acknowledged in the Annotationes what we had done, in order that, if our words differed in some respect from those that the author of this work had provided, the reader who obtained a manuscript could restore them. ... And even this that we did here we would not have dared to do in the case of the Gospels nor indeed in the apostolic Epistles. The style of this book is very simple and its contents are mostly narrative, let alone the fact that its author has long since been unknown. Finally this place is only the ending of the book.

Erika Rummel:

There was no doubt that the words had been omitted, and they were only a few. To avoid leaving a lacuna in my text, I supplied the Greek out of our Latin version. I did not want to conceal this from the reader, however, and admitted in the annotations what I had done. My thought was that the reader, if he had access to a manuscript, could correct anything in our words that differed from those put by the author of this work. … And yet I would not have dared to do in the Gospels or even in the apostolic Epistles what I have done here. The language of this book is very simple, and the content has mostly a historical sense, not to mention that the authorship was once uncertain. Finally, this passage is merely the conclusion of the work.

Krans' failure to connect the dots

In Chapter 2, on Page 32, of Jan Krans' book Beyond What is Written, he shows more error that is parroted by James White. In the context of homoeoteleuton...

"...Another clear description of the process can be found in Erasmus' reaction to one of Lee's criticisms:

I felt that the scribe had made an error for the following reason: because the words 'in this book' occur twice, he turned his eyes to the second instance, omitting the words in between. There is no stone on which the copyists stumble more often.¹⁶..."

Krans then has the footnote:

"...16 "Sensimus autem scribam per eam occasionem errasse, quod cum bis ponatur in libro isto ille ad posterius oculos deflexerit relictis que sunt in medio. Siquidem ad nullum lapidem frequentius impingunt librarii" (Resp. ad annot. Ed. Lei, ASD IX-4, p. 278 11. 32-34). This description is nice and clearly based on acquaintance with scribal practice, but Erasmus is mistaken about the text-critical case he is describing. In min. 2814, the manuscript he used for Revelation in his first edition, the final verses of the book are not missing because of homoeoteleuton, but simply because a leaf of the manuscript is missing (actually — as is often stated — it is not the final leaf of the manuscript that is missing, but the leaf with, besides part of the commentary, the final verses of the text, to wit Rev 22:16-21, from the words ὁ ἀστὴρ at the end of verse 16 onwards). It has to be granted, however, that min. 2814 or its Vorlage certainly suffered from homoeoteleuton at many places. One might conclude that homoeoteleuton phenomena were familiar to Erasmus to such an extent that he could even use them as a subterfuge when he no longer remembered the exact state of affairs. For a harsher view, see Delitzsch, Handschriftliche Funde 1, pp. 14-15.

Notice that Erasmus clearly said it was homoeoteleuton, but Krans is following the errors of Delitzsch and not recognizing the two separate issues, one related to the Greek manuscripts containing homoeoteleuton in Revelation 22:19, and the other being the last 6 verses of the Reuchlin’s codex (2814) which he traveled to examine. By mixing these events and claiming Erasmus had only one manuscript for Revelation, this opens up all types of speculation and erroneous conclusions.

Beyond What is Written

Jan Krans in his book Beyond What is Written says:

The story of Erasmus’ retranslation of the final verses of Revelation from the Vulgate into Greek is well-known and discussed in every textbook on New Testament textual criticism. The basic elements or facts are the following. The first edition of the New Testament with a Greek text was prepared by Erasmus and published in 1516. For Revelation, he based his Greek text on a single manuscript, minuscule 1r (now numbered 2814 according to the new Gregory-Aland number).2 This manuscript, however, lacks the final verses of the book, and in order to have a complete text, Erasmus retranslated these verses into Greek from the Latin. Elements of his retranslation survive in every edition of the so-called Textus Receptus, the standard text of the printed Greek New Testament until the nineteenth century.3 Obviously, for those who try to defend the Textus Receptus as the original text of the Greek New Testament, this story poses something of a problem. Here is one text in which the presumably uninterrupted line of transmission is demonstrably broken. Only a miracle could have made Erasmus produce exactly the same text as the original Greek, and such a miracle did not happen. Let me state from the start that the entire enterprise of trying to defend the Greek Textus Receptus is pointless. Sometimes even the obvious has to be stated, unfortunately. Well then, even if the leaf with the final verses of Revelation had still been part of the manuscript that was used for that part of the New Testament, or if Erasmus had had a far better manuscript for Revelation as a whole, the character of the Textus Receptus in general would not have been different. The circumstances under which it was produced are known only too well: the manuscripts that were used, the working conditions of editors, copyists and typesetters, the knowledge and skills in (Greek) textual criticism at that time, and finally the aims the editors, beginning with Erasmus, had. Not much historical insight and knowledge is needed to see that this combination of factors, partly coincidental and partly historically determined, could never produce a scholarly good Greek text of the New Testament, let alone the best attainable Greek text. The defence of the sixteenth-century text can only be inspired by an—unfortunate—theological a priori, not by the historical facts.

Doug Kutilek

Concerning Revelation 22:19, Kutilek noted:

"The fact that all textus receptus editions of Stephanus, Beza, et al. read with Erasmus shows that their texts were more or less slavish reprints of Erasmus' text and not independently compiled editions, for had they been edited independently of Erasmus, they would surely have followed the Greek manuscripts here and read 'tree of life'". (Westcott & Hort vs. Textus Receptus, p. 3).

Dean Burgon Society

Erasmus' manuscript of Revelation is said to have been lacking in the last six verses (22:16-21), and was supplied by referring to the Latin Vulgate. Herman Hoskier in his massive, and I must add, difficult to use, Concerning the Text of the Apocalypse, has shown that Erasmus may have had Greek manuscript 2049 (Hoskiers's 141) covering these verses (I 474-77; II 454, 635). But whatever the case, Dr. Wallace should have told the rest of the story; that is, if indeed Erasmus used the Vulgate, in his later editions it was corrected by direct reference to the Greek.

One notable exception is claimed to be 22:19 where the AV/TR reads: ...shall take away his part out of the book of life. This has fairly substantial support in other sources, but is found in only three Greek manuscripts (296 2049 2067mg.). The variant reading, though supported by the Greek, can hardly be said to make sense: ...shall take away his part out of the tree of life. In When the KJV Departs from the "Majority" Text, and using Hoskier, I have listed support from the manuscripts, versions, and fathers for eight passages in Revelation 22:15-21. [3]

T. L. Hubeart

Other than this passage, it is to be observed that "book of life" appears in Revelation six times: at 3:5, 13:8, 17:8, 20:12, 20:15, and 21:27. "Tree of life" appears outside this passage a total of three times: 2:7, 22:2, and 22:14. The "book of life" receives twice the mention of the "tree of life" for good reason: the "tree" appears to be a symbol of reward, while the "book" is symbolic of a person's very salvation. Notice the difference between 2:7 and 3:5 --the former pictures a believer who has already entered the holy city and is receiving fruit from the tree as a reward, while the latter pictures one just getting to enter the city (putting on "white raiment," which is the preparation for entering into His joys; cf. Matt. 22:11) and being assured of his entrance in the words, "I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels."

That the meaning of the disputed words in 22:19 is "book of life" is confirmed by mention of exile from "the holy city." We are not in the realm of "reward" here (as we are in 22:12-14 , the last time the "tree" has been mentioned) but in that of soul-peril, as it is a serious thing to tamper with the words of the Lord. (Incidentally, the commentaries of Matthew Henry and Thomas Scott seem to confirm the soul-peril idea. Henry says that "he who takes anything away from [the word of God] cuts himself off from all the promises and privileges of it," while Scott notes that this is expressed "in the most awful manner" and that those who tamper with the canon "have abundant cause to tremble at this solemn warning.")

Joi Christians

Erasmus and the New Testament: Humanist scholarship of theological convictions? by Joi Christians

"The last six verses of Revelation were missing, so Erasmus translated the Vulgate back into Greek to provide a text. Unfortunately he translated them into poor Greek, and, compounding the injury, despite his inclusion of them in the text, he suggested they did not actually exist. In his fourth edition he did rectify this by adding a text provided by the Complutensian Polyglot"

the holy city

the things which are written in this book

Greek

Textus Receptus

Revelation 22:19 the 1514 Complutensian Polyglot

• 1514 καὶ ἐάν τις ἀφέλη ἀπὸ/τῶν λόγων/του βίβλίου/της προφητείας ταύτης, ἀφέλοι/ο θεὸς/τὸ μέρος αυτοῦ απο/του ξύλου/της ζωῆς και ἐκ/της πόλεως/της ἁγίας/των γεγραμμένων ἐν/τω βιβλίω τούτω (Complutensian Polyglot)

Desiderius Erasmus

• 1516 καὶ εἴτις ἀφαιρῇ ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων βίβλου τῆς προφητείας ταύτης. ἀφαιρήσει ὁ θεὸς τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ βίβλου ζωῆς, καὶ πόλεως ἁγίας, καὶ τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν βιβλίῳ τούτῳ. (Erasmus 1st Novum Instrumentum omne)
• 1519 (Erasmus 2nd)
• 1522 (Erasmus 3rd Novum Testamentum omne)
• 1527 (Erasmus 4th)
• 1535 (Erasmus 5th)

Colinæus

• 1534 (Colinæus)

Stephanus (Robert Estienne)

• 1546 (Robert Estienne (Stephanus) 1st)
• 1549 (Robert Estienne (Stephanus) 2nd)
• 1550 καὶ ἐάν τις ἀφαιρῇ ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων βίβλου τῆς προφητείας ταύτης ἀφαιρήσει ὁ θεὸς τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ βίβλου τῆς ζωῆς καὶ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἁγίας καὶ τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν βιβλίῳ τούτῳ (Robert Estienne (Stephanus) 3rd - Editio Regia)
• 1551 καὶ ἐάν τις ἀφαιρῇ ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων βίβλου τῆς προφητείας ταύτης ἀφαιρήσει ὁ θεὸς τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ βίβλου τῆς ζωῆς καὶ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἁγίας καὶ τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν βιβλίῳ τούτῳ (Robert Estienne (Stephanus) 4th)

Theodore Beza

• 1565 (Beza 1st)
• 1565 (Beza Octavo 1st)
• 1567 (Beza Octavo 2nd)
• 1580 (Beza Octavo 3rd)
• 1582 (Beza 2nd)
• 1588 (Beza 3rd)

Revelation 22:19 in Beza's 1588 Greek New Testament

• 1590 (Beza Octavo 4th)
• 1598 Καὶ ἐάν τις ἀφαιρῇ ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων βίβλου τῆς προφητείας ταύτης, ἀφαιρήσει ὁ θεὸς τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ βίβλου τῆς ζωῆς, καὶ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἁγίας, καὶ τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν βιβλίῳ τούτῳ. (Beza 4th)

Revelation 22:19 in Beza's 1598 Greek New Testament

See Also Revelation 22:19 Beza 1598 (Beza)

• 1604 (Beza Octavo 5th)

Elzevir

• 1624 (Elzevir)
• 1633 (Elzevir)
• 1641 (Elzevir)

Scholz

• 1841 (Scholz)

Scrivener

• 1894 καὶ ἐάν τις ἀφαιρῇ ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων βίβλου τῆς προφητείας ταύτης, ἀφαιρήσει ὁ Θεὸς τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ βίβλου τῆς ζωῆς, καὶ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἁγίας, καὶ τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν βιβλίῳ τούτῳ. (F. H. A. Scrivener , The New Testament in the Original Greek according to the Text followed in the Authorised Version - Cambridge University Press).

Other Greek

• 1857 (Tregelles' Greek New Testament)
• 1872 καί ἐάν τὶς ἀφαιρέω ἀπό ὁ λόγος ὁ βιβλίον ὁ προφητεία οὗτος ἀφαιρέω ὁ θεός ὁ μέρος αὐτός ἀπό ὁ ξύλον ὁ ζωή καί ἐκ ὁ πόλις ὁ ἅγιος ὁ γράφω ἐν ὁ βιβλίον οὗτος (Tischendorf 8th Ed.)
• 1881 καὶ ἐάν τις ἀφέλῃ ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων τοῦ βιβλίου τῆς προφητείας ταύτης, ἀφελεῖ ὁ θεὸς τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς καὶ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἁγίας, τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τούτῳ. (Westcott & Hort)
• 1904 καὶ ἐάν τις ἀφέλῃ ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων τοῦ βιβλίου τῆς προφητείας ταύτης, ἀφελεῖ ὁ Θεὸς τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς καὶ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἁγίας, τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τούτῳ.(Greek orthodox Church)
• 1904 καὶ ἐάν τις ἀφέλῃ ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων τοῦ βιβλίου τῆς προφητείας ταύτης, ἀφελεῖ ὁ Θεὸς τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς καὶ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἁγίας, τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τούτῳ. (Nestle)

Anglo Saxon Translations

English Translations

Revelation 22:19 in the 1611 King James Version

• 1380 (Wyclif's Bible by John Wycliffe)

• 1395 And if ony man do awei of the wordis of the book of this prophesie, God schal take awei the part of hym fro the book of lijf, and fro the hooli citee, and fro these thingis that ben writun in this book. (Wyclif's Bible by John Wycliffe)

• 1534 And yf eny man shall mynyshe of the wordes of ye boke of this prophesy god shall take a waye his parte out of the boke of lyfe and oute of ye holy citie and fro thoo thynge which are written in this boke. (Tyndale Bible by William Tyndale)

Revelation 22:19 in Tyndale's 1535 Middleburch imprint

• 1535 And yf eny man shal mynishe of the wordes of the boke of this prophesy, God shal take awaye his parte out of the boke of life, and out of the holy citie, and fro tho thinges which are wrytten in this boke. (Coverdale Bible)

• 1539 (Great Bible First Edition - Miles Coverdale)

• 1540 And yf eny man shall mynisshe of the wordes of the boke of this prophesy, God shall take awaye hys parte out of þe boke of lyfe, and out of þe holy cytie, and from the thynges which are written in this boke. (Great Bible Second Edition - Miles Coverdale)

• 1549 And yf any man shal mynyshe of the wordes of the boke of this prophesy, God shall take awaye hys part out of the boke of lyfe, & out of the holye citie and from those thinges which are wrytten in this boke. (Matthew's Bible - John Rogers)

• 1557 (Geneva 1557)

• 1560 (Geneva Bible) First Edition

• 1568 And yf any man shall minishe of the wordes of the booke of this prophecie, God shal take away his part out of the booke of lyfe, and out of the holy citie, and from the thynges which are writte in this booke. (Bishop's Bible First Edition

• 1582 (Rheims 1582)

• 1587 And if any man shall diminish of the wordes of the booke of this prophecie, God shall take away his part out of the Booke of life, and out of the holie citie, and from those things which are written in this booke. (Geneva Bible) by William Whittingham

• 1599 (Geneva Bible) by William Whittingham

• 1611 And if any man shall take away from the wordes of the booke of this prophesie, God shal take away his part out of the booke of life, and out of the holy citie, and from the things which are written in this booke. (King James Version)

• 1729 and if any one shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall exclude him from any interest in the tree of life, and in the holy city, and in the things which are written in this book." (Mace New Testament)

• 1745 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophesy, God shall take away his part out of the tree of life, and out of the holy city, and the things which are written in this book. (Mr. Whiston's Primitive New Testament)

• 1762 (King James Version)

• 1769 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (King James Version - Benjamin Blayney)

• 1770 and if any one take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things that are written in this book. (Worsley Version by John Worsley)

• 1790 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part of the tree of life, and the holy city, which are written in this book. (Wesley Version by John Wesley)

• 1795 and if any take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the book of life, and from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (A Translation of the New Testament from the Original Greek by Thomas Haweis)

• 1833 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Webster Version - by Noah Webster)

• 1835 and if any one take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city––the things which are written in this book. (Living Oracles by Alexander Campbell)

• 1849 And if any man make to cease from the words of the book of this prophecy, Aloha will make to cease his portion of the tree of life, and of the holy city of which is written in this book. (Etheridge Translation by John Etheridge)

• 1850 (King James Version by Committee)

• 1851 (Murdock Translation)

• 1855 Calvin Bible by the Calvin Translation Society

• 1858 and if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and the holy city, described in this book. (The New Testament Translated from the Original Greek by Leicester Sawyer)

• 1865 and if any one may take away from the words of the scroll of the prophecy this, will take the God the portion of him from the wood of the life, and out of the city the holy, of those having been written in the scroll this. (The Emphatic Diaglott by Benjamin Wilson)

• 1865 and if any one shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written of in this book. (The New Testament of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ 1865 by American Bible Union)

• 1869 and if any one shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written of in this book. (Noyes Translation by George Noyes)

• 1873 and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (King James Version) by Frederick Scrivener)

• 1885 and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book. (Revised Version also called English Revised Version - Charles Ellicott editor)

• 1890 And if any one take from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book. (Darby Version 1890 by John Darby)

• 1898 and if any one may take away from the words of the scroll of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the scroll of the life, and out of the holy city, and the things that have been written in this scroll;' (Young's Literal Translation by Robert Young)

• 1901 and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book. (American Standard Version - Philip Schaff)

• 1902 And, if anyone shall take away from the words of this prophetic scroll, God, will take away his part,––from the tree of life, and out of the holy city,––[from] the things written in this scroll. (The Emphasised Bible Rotherham Version)

• 1902 and if any one may take from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take his part from the tree of life, and from the holy city, from the things which are written in this book. (Translation of the New Testament from the Original Greek by William Godbey)

• 1904 and, if anyone shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, even from the things written in this book." (The New Testament: Revised and Translated by Adolphus Worrell)

• 1904 and if any one takes away any of the words in the book containing this prophecy, God will take away his share in the Tree of Life, and in the Holy City—as described in this book.' (Twentieth Century New Testament by Ernest Malan and Mary Higgs)

• 1911 (Syrus Scofield)

• 1912 (Weymouth New Testament)

• 1918 and if any one take away from the words of the book of this prophecy. God will take away his part from the tree of life, and from the holy city; which things are written in this book. (The New Testament Translated from the Sinaitic Manuscript by Henry Anderson)

• 1923 (Edgar Goodspeed)

• 1982 (New King James Version)

• 1984 (New International Version)

• 1995 (New American Standard Bible) (©1995)

• 1999 (American King James Version)AKJV

• 2005 (Today’s New International Version)

• (BBE)
• (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
• (21st Century King James Version)
• (Common English Bible)
• (GOD’S WORD Translation)
• (Contemporary English Version)
• (New Living Translation)
• (Amplified Bible)
• (The Message)
• (New International Reader's Version)
• (Wycliffe New Testament)

Foreign Language Versions

Arabic

• وان كان احد يحذف من اقوال كتاب هذه النبوّة يحذف الله نصيبه من سفر الحياة ومن المدينة المقدسة ومن المكتوب في هذا الكتاب (Arabic Smith & Van Dyke)

Aramaic

• ܘܐܝܢܐ ܕܡܒܨܪ ܡܢ ܡܠܐ ܕܟܬܒܐ ܕܢܒܝܘܬܐ ܗܕܐ ܢܒܨܪ ܐܠܗܐ ܡܢܬܗ ܡܢ ܩܝܤܐ ܕܚܝܐ ܘܡܢ ܡܕܝܢܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܐܝܠܝܢ ܕܟܬܝܒܢ ܒܟܬܒܐ ܗܢܐ (Aramaic Peshitta)

Basque

• Eta baldin nehorc ken badeça deus prophetia hunen liburuco hitzetaric, kenduren du Iaincoac haren partea vicitzeco liburutic, eta Ciuitate saindutic, eta liburu hunetan scribatuac diraden gaucetaric.

Bulgarian

• 1940 и, ако някой отнеме от думите на тая пророческа книга, Бог ще му отнеме дела от дървото на живота и от светия град, които са описани в тая книга. (Bulgarian Bible)

Chinese

• 1 这 书 上 的 预 言 ， 若 有 人 删 去 甚 麽 ， 神 必 从 这 书 上 所 写 的 生 命 树 和 圣 城 删 去 他 的 分 。 (Chinese Union Version (Simplified))

• 1 這 書 上 的 預 言 ， 若 有 人 刪 去 甚 麼 ， 神 必 從 這 書 上 所 寫 的 生 命 樹 和 聖 城 刪 去 他 的 分 。 (Chinese Union Version (Traditional))

French

Revelation 22:19 French Bible d'Olivétan of 1535

• et que si quelqu'un ôte quelque chose des paroles du livre de cette prophétie, Dieu ôtera sa part de l'arbre de vie et de la sainte cité, qui sont écrits dans ce livre. (French Darby)

• 1744 Et si quelqu'un retranche quelque chose des paroles du Livre de cette prophétie, Dieu lui enlèvera la part qu'il a dans le Livre de vie, dans la sainte Cité, et dans les choses qui sont écrites dans ce Livre. (Martin 1744)

• 1744 Et si quelqu'un retranche des paroles du livre de cette prophétie, Dieu retranchera sa part du livre de vie, et de la sainte cité, et des choses qui sont écrites dans ce livre. (Ostervald 1744)

German

• 1545 Und so jemand davontut von den Worten des Buchs dieser Weissagung, so wird Gott abtun sein Teil vom Buch des Lebens und von der heiligen Stadt und von dem, was in diesem Buch geschrieben stehet. (Luther 1545)

• 1871 und wenn jemand von den Worten des Buches dieser Weissagung wegnimmt, so wird Gott sein Teil wegnehmen von dem Baume des Lebens und aus der heiligen Stadt, die (O. von den Dingen, die) in diesem Buche geschrieben ist. (Elberfelder 1871)

• 1912 Und so jemand davontut von den Worten des Buchs dieser Weissagung, so wird Gott abtun sein Teil von Holz des Lebens und von der heiligen Stadt, davon in diesem Buch geschrieben ist. (Luther 1912)

Italian

• 1649 E se alcuno toglie delle parole del libro di questa profezia, Iddio gli torrà la sua parte dell’albero della vita, e della santa città, e delle cose scritte in questo libro. (Giovanni Diodati Bible 1649)

• 1927 e se alcuno toglie qualcosa dalle parole del libro di questa profezia, Iddio gli torrà la sua parte dell’albero della vita e della città santa, delle cose scritte in questo libro. (Riveduta Bible 1927)

Japanese

• 1928 (Naoji Nagai)

Latin

• et si quis deminuerit de verbis libri prophetiae huius auferet Deus partem eius de ligno vitae et de civitate sancta et de his quae scripta sunt in libro isto Latin Vulgate

• 1527 (Erasmus 1527)

• 1527 (Erasmus Vulgate 1527)

Pidgin

• 1996 Na sapos wanpela man i rausim sampela samting long ol tok bilong dispela buk bilong tok profet, bai God i rausim hap bilong en long buk bilong laip, na long dispela taun holi, na long ol samting Em i bin rait insait long dispela buk. (Pidgin King Jems)

Romainian

• 2010 Şi dacă scoate cineva ceva din cuvintele cărţii acestei proorocii, îi va scoate Dumnezeu partea lui dela pomul vieţii şi din cetatea sfîntă, scrise în cartea aceasta.`` (Biblia Traducerea Fidela în limba româna)

Russian

• 1876 и если кто отнимет что от слов книги пророчества сего, у того отнимет Бог участие в книге жизни и в святом граде и в том, что написано в книге сей. Russian Synodal Version

Phonetically:

Spanish

• Y si alguno quitare de las palabras del libro de esta profecía, Dios quitará su parte del libro de la vida, y de la santa ciudad, y de las cosas que están escritas en este libro. (RVG Spanish)

Swedish

• 1917 Och om någon tager bort något från de ord som stå i denna profetias bok, så skall Gud taga ifrån honom hans del i livets träd och i den heliga staden, om vilka är skrivet i denna bok.» (Swedish - Svenska 1917)

Tagalog

• 1905 At kung ang sinoman ay magalis sa mga salita ng aklat ng hulang ito, ay aalisin ng Dios ang kaniyang bahagi sa punong kahoy ng buhay, at sa bayang banal, na nangakasulat sa aklat na ito. (Ang Dating Biblia 1905)

Vietnamese

• 1934 Và kẻ nào bớt điều gì trong những lời ở sách tiên tri nầy, thì Ðức Chúa Trời sẽ cất lấy phần họ về cây sự sống và thành thánh, mà đã chép ra trong sách nầy. (VIET)

See Also

• Revelation 22:16-21
• Revelation 22:19 Book of Life or Tree of Life by Will Kinney
• Minuscule 2814
• Minuscule 2049
• Minuscule 2067
• Minuscule 296
• Franz Delitzsch

External Links

• Revelation 22:19 Book of Life or Tree of Life? by Will Kinney
• “Book of life” or “Tree of life” in Revelation 22:19? by KJV Today
• Revelation 22:19 -"book of life" and the last six verses of Revelation 22 An excerpt from Dr. Thomas Holland's Crowned With Glory
• The Myth of Erasmus' " THE MYTH OF ERASMUS’ “Back Translating”. by christianhospitality.org
• Erasmian Myths: Revelation Back Translated from the Vulgate? by Chris Thomas June 8th, 2016

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