| Living Oracles | |
|---|---|
| Full name | The Living Oracles |
| NT published | 1826 |
| Copyright | Public Domain |
...for God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son, that whoever believes on him, may not perish, but obtain eternal life. | |
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TheLiving Oracles is a translation of the New Testament compiled and edited by the earlyRestoration Movement leaderAlexander Campbell.[1][2]: 87–88 Published in 1826, it was based on an 1818 combined edition of translations byGeorge Campbell, James MacKnight andPhilip Doddridge, and included edits and extensive notes by Campbell.[1][2]: 87–88 [3]: 122
Campbell was motivated by a belief thatchanges in the English language and the availability of improvedcritical editions of theGreekNew Testament had made theAuthorized King James Version obsolete.[1][2]: 88 In developing the translation, Campbell relied on the critical Greek text published byJohann Jakob Griesbach.[1] One notable feature of the translation is the replacement of traditional ecclesiastical terms such as "church" and "baptise" with alternative translations such as "congregation" and "immerse".[1][2]: 88 TheLiving Oracles has been described as a forerunner of modern language translations in its updating of the traditional King James language and use of the work of textual critics such as Griesbach.[1][2]: 88
The translation was widely used within theRestoration Movement, but was criticized by others for its translation ofβαπτίζω (baptizô) as "immerse" rather than "baptize".[1][2]: 88 Because of the way this word was translated, theLiving Oracles was most often used by those who believed inimmersion baptism and most vigorously criticized by groups practicinginfant baptism bysprinkling.[1][2]: 88