Background
He was the son of Joseph Franz Schlachter, a business man from Mühlhausen/Alsace in France.
He was the son of Joseph Franz Schlachter, a business man from Mühlhausen/Alsace in France.
From 1878-1882 he studied at a seminary in Basel.
At the same time he experienced conversion to Jesus Christ. He continued to study Ancient Greek and Hebrew during this time. In 1882 he began his service as a preacher of the Evangelische Gesellschaft of the Bern canton.
In 1884 he was baptised by a preacher from the Freie Evangelische Gemeinde in Thun named Konrad Werndli.
In 1888 he published a short pamphlet named "Brosamen von des Herrn Tisch". In the first part he wrote about the Bible and belief in Jesus Christ.
In the second part he wrote about animals and nature. In the third part he described men of God such as Moody and the history of the church.
The last part is a report on the political scene in Europe.
The pamphlet was distributed to farms in the Emmental. In 1890 he founded a new assembly in Biel. Subsequently he began his translation of the Bible, beginning with the book of Job in 1893.
In 1905 the Miniaturbibel (Miniature Bible) was completed, named for its size (1 cm thick), small enough to carry in a pocket.
The translation was faithful to the Greek and Hebrew transcripts. In 1907 he went to Bern to join the Freie Evangelische Gemeinde as a pastor.
In 1911 he died in Bern of a stomach illness. This article incorporates text from the corresponding German Wikipedia article as of 19 December 2005.