22:19a
And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy: This clause refers to changing the meaning of anything that John had written by:
(a) removing words that he had written,
(b) denying the truth of any meaning in it.
Other ways to translate this clause are:
if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
if anyone removes any truth from this book of prophecy
22:19b
God will take away: The phrase take away poetically connects this clause with 22:19a. If possible, use the phrase take away here as well.
share: The word share refers to a part or portion of something. This person will not receive the privilege of eating the fruit from the tree of life. In other words, he will not receive eternal life. Other ways to translate this word are:
portion (God’s Word)
-or-
⌊shared⌋ right/privilege
the tree of life:
This phrase indicates that the tree is a source of eternal life. See how you translated this phrase in 22:14.
General Comment on 22:18b–19b
The warnings in 22:18b–19b are told to everyone who might try to change John’s prophecies. In some languages it is more natural to use plural forms. For example:
18b if any add anything to them, 18c God will add to their punishment the plagues described in this book. 19a And if any take anything away from the prophetic words of this book, 19b God will take away from them their share of the fruit of the tree of life (Good News Translation)
In some languages it is more natural to use second person forms. For example:
18b If you add anything to them, 18c God will make you suffer…. 19a If you take anything away…19b God will not let you have part…. (Contemporary English Version)
22:19c
the holy city: The new Jerusalem is the holy city because God will live there. Here the word holy indicates that the city is dedicated for God’s use. His people will live there. Nothing evil will live there. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
the city set apart
-or-
God’s city
See how you translated this phrase in 21:2 or 21:10.
which are described in this book: The Greek clause is literally “having been written in this book.” This clause refers to both “the tree of life” and “the holy city.” It is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
which ⌊I⌋ wrote about in this book
-or-
which are in this book
This clause gives more information about “the tree of life” and “the holy city.” In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that there are other trees of life and holy cities. It would also indicate that John only wrote about these trees of life and holy city. If that is true in your language, translate this clause so that it gives more information about them. One way to do that is to start a new sentence here. For example:
⌊I⌋ wrote about those things in this book.
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