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Oldest & Best Manuscript Evidence Database

Revelation 22:19

The Book of Life

KJV Reading Defended

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.

Why the KJV Reading Is Retained

“Book of life” has substantial historical support outside the dominant surviving Greek line. It is found in important Vulgate witnesses, the Bohairic Coptic and Arabic traditions, and Latin fathers and commentators including Primasius and Ambrose. Two late Greek witnesses preserve the closely related word βιβλίου, demonstrating that a Greek “book” form also entered manuscript transmission. The phrase “book of life” is itself securely biblical and appears elsewhere in Revelation.

Disputed unit

The noun at word addresses 40-42: tree, related book forms and the exact TR βίβλου form.

Latin back translationNo exact Greek manuscript supportLate related Greek supportPrinted-text historyLatin evidenceComplex evidence

Evidence assessment

ECM has 74 tree-reading states. No Greek manuscript reads the exact TR βίβλου; two physical artifacts, 61 and 2067, preserve the related βιβλίου form in three states, with an additional uncertain 61*vid assignment.

Primary support for the KJV reading

Related Greek book readings in 61 and 2067, alongside Latin and printed-text transmission

King James Bible reading

Revelation 22:19 in the King James Bible

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.
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Evidence sources

Where the evidence on this page comes from.

Sources used for the witnesses, readings, dates, and notes on this page. Complete citations appear in the References section at the end of the page.

Governing apparatus and count scope

The current digital ECM Revelation apparatus. Counts are the named Greek reading states displayed for the exact target unit; fully non-extant witnesses remain separate.

Full witness information

Earliest KJV-supporting evidence

The earliest reviewed support at a glance.

“Book of life” reading

Late fourth century — Ambrose and Bachiarius, Latin “book of life” evidence.

Earliest surviving Greek support: Related βιβλίου appears in minuscule 61, c. AD 1520, and the corrector of 2067.

Exact received Greek form

AD 1516 — Erasmus, exact printed Greek βίβλου.

Earliest surviving Greek support: No surviving Greek manuscript is identified for exact Textus Receptus βίβλου.

Primary support for the KJV reading

Related Greek book readings in 61 and 2067, alongside Latin and printed-text transmission

The sections below preserve each supporting, competing, and related record under its proper evidence type.

Source scope and denominator

The current digital ECM Revelation apparatus. Counts are the named Greek reading states displayed for the exact target unit; fully non-extant witnesses remain separate.

Greek support in the cited corpus

0 exact βίβλου states; 2 artifacts with related βιβλίου states

Greek competing evidence in the cited corpus

74 tree states

Principal competing witnesses named in the snapshot

  • Codex Sinaiticus (01)
  • Codex Alexandrinus (02)
  • 046
  • 35

Evidence represented on this page

Greek manuscripts

No entry listed

Ancient versions

Represented

Church fathers

Represented

Printed editions

Represented

Complete source-scoped roster

Complete roster within the stated source scope.

This roster preserves every named or grouped state recovered in the governing sources, including exact readings, competing readings, corrections, related forms, lacunae, versions, and aggregate traditions. When Maj or Byz appears on the KJV side, it marks the numerically dominant Greek transmission at that unit. The green Majority Text card above supplies the best available passage-specific estimate. The grouped siglum is then retained so it is not mistaken for one individual manuscript.

Apparatus and roster scope

The current digital ECM Revelation apparatus. Counts are the named Greek reading states displayed for the exact target unit; fully non-extant witnesses remain separate.

Greek support in cited scope
0 exact βίβλου states; 2 artifacts with related βιβλίου states
Greek competing evidence in cited scope
74 tree states
Evidence classification
Related Greek book readings in 61 and 2067, alongside Latin and printed-text transmission

Tree or book

KJV/TR unit: βίβλου

Exact TR βίβλου

Supports the KJV/TR form

No Greek manuscript entry.

Related τοῦ βιβλίου

Related or qualified evidence

61* 61C 2067C

Uncertain τοῦ μέρους βιβλίου

Related or qualified evidence

61*vid

τοῦ ξύλου

Competing reading

01 02 046 35 82 91 93 104 141 177 201 250 254 325 367 452 469 498 506 522 620 632 792 808 1006 1424 1611 1637 1719 1732 1734 1773 1780 1795 1849 1852 1854 1872 1888 2026 2028 2037 2042 2048 2050 2053 2056 2057 2070 2071 2073 2074 2076 2077 2081 2138 2286 2329 2350 2377 2432 2436 2495 2595 2672 2681 2723 2845 2846 2847 2886 2917 2921 2067*

Anarthrous ξύλου

Related or qualified evidence

456

Unassigned at target

Non-directional evidence

2344

Fully non-extant

Non-directional evidence

P47 04 025 052 69 218 911 1828 2019 2080 2200 2256 2351 2429 2582 2814 2919 2924

Church Fathers and literary witnesses

Precisely located citations and additional names reported by the controlling apparatus are kept separate. An apparatus-level attribution is not presented as an independently verified exact quotation.

Acts of Saturninus

AD 300–499

Latin martyr-text citation of Revelation 22:19

Supporting witnessCitation type: Close quotation

Cited in the apparatus for the “book of life” reading.

Locator: Palmer, Revelation 22:19 apparatus

Open source

Ambrose of Milan

AD 339–397

Latin citation tradition for Revelation 22:19

Supporting witnessCitation type: Close quotation

Cited in the apparatus for the “book of life” reading.

Locator: Palmer, Revelation 22:19 apparatus

Open source

Tyconius

AD 380–385

Commentary tradition on Revelation 22:19

Competing witnessCitation type: Close quotation

Cited in the apparatus for the “tree of life” reading.

Locator: Palmer, Revelation 22:19 apparatus

Open source

Primasius of Hadrumetum

AD 540–560

Commentary on the Apocalypse, Revelation 22:19

Supporting witnessCitation type: Close quotation

Cited in the apparatus for the “book of life” reading.

Locator: Palmer, Revelation 22:19 apparatus

Open source

Apringius of Beja

AD 540–560

Commentary on the Apocalypse, Revelation 22:19

Competing witnessCitation type: Close quotation

Cited in the apparatus for the “tree of life” reading.

Locator: Palmer, Revelation 22:19 apparatus

Open source

Beatus of Liébana

AD 776–786

Commentary on the Apocalypse, Revelation 22:19

Competing witnessCitation type: Close quotation

Cited in the apparatus for the “tree of life” reading.

Locator: Palmer, Revelation 22:19 apparatus

Open source

Haymo of Halberstadt

AD 801–853

Commentary tradition on Revelation 22:19

Supporting witnessCitation type: Close quotation

Cited in the apparatus for the “book of life” reading.

Locator: Palmer, Revelation 22:19 apparatus

Open source

Roster distinctions

  • 2067* reads tree and 2067C the related book form.
  • 2814 is non-extant here and cannot be counted on either side; 2344 is unassigned.

Evidence notes

Important distinctions in the evidence.

  • The Latin words ligno (“tree/wood”) and libro (“book”) are different words, not a one-letter variation.
  • Greek manuscripts 61 and the corrected form of 2067 preserve the related word βιβλίου rather than the exact Textus Receptus form βίβλου.
  • Manuscript 2814 is missing this passage and is not evidence for either reading at Revelation 22:19.
  • Revelation uses both “book of life” and “tree of life” elsewhere, so internal familiarity could influence transmission in either direction.
  • 2067* reads tree and 2067C the related book form.
  • 2814 is non-extant here and cannot be counted on either side; 2344 is unassigned.

Evidence assessment

Why the KJV reading is retained

ECM has 74 tree-reading states. No Greek manuscript reads the exact TR βίβλου; two physical artifacts, 61 and 2067, preserve the related βιβλίου form in three states, with an additional uncertain 61*vid assignment.

Primary support for the KJV reading

Related Greek book readings in 61 and 2067, alongside Latin and printed-text transmission

Evidence represented on this page

Evidence types, without turning rows into votes.

GreekRepresented
LatinRepresented
Other versionsRepresented
FathersRepresented
Printed editionsRepresented

Separate evidence category

Printed editions and reception history

Printed editions are presented apart from handwritten manuscripts and ancient versions. Edition-group summaries appear first; named supporting and competing editions then follow chronologically.

Edition evidence for both readings

Sources for the dates and readings in this section

Catalogued records

5

Named / aggregate

4 / 1

Date span

AD 1516–2007

Tradition conclusions appear first. Named manuscripts and other identifiable witnesses follow from oldest to newest with their dates and passage-specific readings.

WitnessDate rangeNotes

Stuttgart Vulgate

Evidence groupTR βίβλου τῆς ζωῆς (“book of life”) versus ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς (“tree of life”). Two late Greek witnesses have the related but not lexically exact βιβλίου (“book”).

Aggregate / traditionCompeting witness		AD 1969–2007

The modern critical Vulgate reads “tree of life.”

Erasmus's first Greek New Testament

Textual unitβίβλου τῆς ζωῆς (“book of life”) versus ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς (“tree of life”)

Named witnessPrinted edition		AD 1516

Prints the exact βίβλου (“book”) form followed by the received Greek text.

Clementine Vulgate

Evidence groupTR βίβλου τῆς ζωῆς (“book of life”) versus ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς (“tree of life”). Two late Greek witnesses have the related but not lexically exact βιβλίου (“book”).

Named witnessPrinted edition		AD 1592

The 1592 printed Vulgate reads “book of life.”

Arabic text in Walton's London Polyglot (arab-w)

Evidence groupTR βίβλου τῆς ζωῆς (“book of life”) versus ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς (“tree of life”). Two late Greek witnesses have the related but not lexically exact βιβλίου (“book”).

Named witnessPrinted edition		AD 1657

Supports “book of life”; arab-w is Walton's 1657 printed Arabic text.

Wordsworth–White Vulgate

Evidence groupTR βίβλου τῆς ζωῆς (“book of life”) versus ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς (“tree of life”). Two late Greek witnesses have the related but not lexically exact βιβλίου (“book”).

Named witnessCompeting witness		AD 1889–1954

The Oxford critical edition reads “tree of life.”

References

Editions and works cited.

  1. Palmer, David Robert. The Revelation of John: The Ancient Greek Text, Alternating Verse by Verse with a New English Translation from the Greek. 2026 ed.

    The Revelation of John: The Ancient Greek Text, Alternating Verse by Verse with a New English Translation from the Greek

  2. Hoskier, Herman C. Concerning the Text of the Apocalypse: Collations of All Existing Available Greek Documents with the Standard Text of Stephen’s Third Edition, Together with the Testimony of Versions, Commentaries and Fathers. 2 vols. London: Bernard Quaritch, 1929.

    Concerning the Text of the Apocalypse: Collations of All Existing Available Greek Documents with the Standard Text of Stephen’s Third Edition, Together with the Testimony of Versions, Commentaries and Fathers

  3. Krans, Jan. “Erasmus and the Text of Revelation 22:19: A Critique of Thomas Holland’s Crowned with Glory”. TC: A Journal of Textual Criticism 16 (2011).

    “Erasmus and the Text of Revelation 22:19: A Critique of Thomas Holland’s Crowned with Glory”

  4. INTF digital Editio Critica Maior: Revelation. Revelation 22:19.

    Open source

  5. INTF Kurzgefasste Liste / NTVMR manuscript metadata

    Open source

Previous contested passage

Revelation 16:5

Which Art, and Wast, and Shalt Be

Revelation 22:19: The Book of Life | Oldest & Best