22:2a
down the middle of the main street of the city: The river splits this street down its length into two parts.
22:2b
On either side of the river stood a tree of life: The Greek words are literally “on this (side) and on that (side) of the river (a/the) tree of life.” There are several ways to interpret the Greek words:
(1) It refers to one tree that spans the river. For example, the Revised Standard Version says:
on either side of the river, the tree of life
(2) It refers to two trees, one on each side of the river. For example, the New Living Translation (2004) says:
On each side of the river grew a tree of life (New Living Translation (2004))
(3) It refers to more than one tree on each side of the river. For example, the New Jerusalem Bible says:
on either bank of the river were the trees of life
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because the Greek word for tree is singular.
a tree of life: This phrase indicates that this tree is a source of life. Those who eat the fruit will have eternal life. For example:
life-giving tree
See how you translated this phrase in 2:7.
22:2c
bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month: The Greek words are literally “producing twelve fruits according to each month yielding its fruit.” Here the Greek phrase “twelve fruits” refers to twelve crops of fruit. There are two ways to interpret this clause:
(1) The tree produces a different kind of fruit each month. For example:
with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month (Revised Standard Version)
(2) The tree produces the same fruit each month. For example:
which bears fruit twelve times a year, once each month (Good News Translation)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because of the phrase “according to each month” in the Greek probably indicates twelve kinds of fruit.
22:2d
And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations: The leaves have the ability to heal all the peoples of the world. Other ways to translate this clause are:
The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
The leaves of the tree will heal the nations (God’s Word)
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