Oneida Bible Portions

The Oneida are a native American tribe. They are one of the founding five (later six) nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. The Oneida originally inhabited the area that later became central New York state, particularly around Oneida Lake and Oneida County. In the 1820s and 1830s many of the Oneida remaining in New York relocated to Wisconsin, and others to Ontario in Canada. Today the Oneida live in New York state, and around Green Bay, Wisconsin in the United States; and in Ontario, Canada. The Rev Eleazar Williams was an Episcopalian minister in Oneida Castle, New York. He produced an Indian prayer book based the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, which was published in 1815. In 1822 he was succeeded as missionary by Rev Solomon Davis. The Rev Solomon Davis, was the missionary to the Oneidas. From 1836 to 1847 he was rector of Hobart Church (now Church of the Holy Apostles) at Duck Creek, in Wisconsin. He revised the 1815 Indian Prayer Book into the form of Oneida spoken there. This contained liturgical Scripture Selections for the morning and evening services. He compiled it from various translations, and prepared it for publication by request of the Domestic Committee of the Board of Missions of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. It was published by in New York in 1837. The Scripture Selections from the 1837 Prayer Book were digitised in 2020. The selections extracted from the Prayer Book include verses from the Old Testament: The Ten Commandments from Exodus 20:2-17 (The Ten Commandments); Psalm 6:1, 19:14, 43:2, 51:3, 9, 19, Psalms 67 (Deus Misereatur), 92 (Bonum est Confiteri), 98 (Cantate Domino), 100 (Jubilate Deo), 103 (Benedic anima mea), and 143:2; Jeremiah 10:24; Ezekiel 18:27; Daniel 9:9-10; Joel 2:13; Habakkuk 2:20; Malachi 1:1. The verses from the New Testamant include: Matthew 3:2; Luke 1:68-71 (Benedictus), 11:2-4 (The Lord’s Prayer), 15:18,19; 2 Corinthians 13:14 (The Grace); and 1 John 1:8-9.