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Thursday, July 17th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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New Living Translation

1 Corinthians 12:16

And if the ear says, "I am not part of the body because I am not an eye," would that make it any less a part of the body?

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Church;   Scofield Reference Index - Churches;   The Topic Concordance - Body;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Selfishness;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Church;   Gifts of the spirit;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Body;   Body of Christ;   Christians, Names of;   Church, the;   Hear, Hearing;   Worship;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Holy Ghost;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Body;   Body of Christ;   Church;   Humanity;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Brotherly Love;   Ephesians, Epistle to;   Inspiration;   Spiritual Gifts;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Character;   Dependence;   Ear;   Eye;   Gifts;   Good;   Unity (2);   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Fruit;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Corinthians, First Epistle to the;   Member;   Redeemer;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body.
King James Version (1611)
And if the eare shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body: is it therefore not of the body?
King James Version
And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
English Standard Version
And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.
New American Standard Bible
And if the ear says, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.
New Century Version
The ear might say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body." But saying this would not stop the ear from being a part of the body.
Amplified Bible
If the ear says, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," is it not on the contrary still a part of the body?
New American Standard Bible (1995)
And if the ear says, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.
Legacy Standard Bible
And if the ear says, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.
Berean Standard Bible
And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.
Contemporary English Version
Or suppose an ear says, "I'm not an eye, and so I'm not part of the body." Wouldn't the ear still belong to the body?
Complete Jewish Bible
And if the ear says, "I'm not an eye, so I'm not part of the body," that doesn't make it stop being part of the body.
Darby Translation
And if the ear say, Because I am not an eye I am not of the body, is it on account of this not indeed of the body?
Easy-to-Read Version
The ear might say, "I am not an eye, so I don't belong to the body." But saying this would not make the ear stop being a part of the body.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And if the eare would say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body?
George Lamsa Translation
And if the ear should say, Because I am not the eye, I am not a part of the body; is it therefore not a member of the body?
Good News Translation
And if the ear were to say, "Because I am not an eye, I don't belong to the body," that would not keep it from being a part of the body.
Lexham English Bible
And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body, not because of this is it not a part of the body.
Literal Translation
And if the ear says, Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body, on account of this, is it not of the body?
American Standard Version
And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body.
Bible in Basic English
And if the ear says, Because I am not the eye, I am not a part of the body; it is a part of the body all the same.
Hebrew Names Version
If the ear would say, "Because I'm not the eye, I'm not part of the body," it's not therefore not part of the body.
International Standard Version
And if the ear says, "Since I'm not an eye, I'm not part of the body," that does not make it any less a part of the body, does it?
Etheridge Translation
And if the ear should say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body itself, would it therefore not be of the body itself?
Murdock Translation
Or if the ear should say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it, on that account, not of the body?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And yf the eare woulde say, because I am not the eye, I am not of the body: is it therfore not of the body?
English Revised Version
And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body.
World English Bible
If the ear would say, "Because I'm not the eye, I'm not part of the body," it's not therefore not part of the body.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And if the ear should say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body?
Weymouth's New Testament
Or were the ear to say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," that would not make it any the less a part of the body.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And if the ere seith, For Y am not the iye, Y am not of the bodi; not therfor it is not of the bodi.
Update Bible Version
And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body.
Webster's Bible Translation
And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
New English Translation
And if the ear says, "Since I am not an eye, I am not part of the body," it does not lose its membership in the body because of that.
New King James Version
And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body?
New Life Bible
If the ear should say, "I am not a part of the body because I am not an eye," that would not stop it from being a part of the body.
New Revised Standard
And if the ear would say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, though the ear should say - Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body, Is it, therefore, not, of the body?
Douay-Rheims Bible
And if the ear should say: Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body: Is it therefore not of the body?
Revised Standard Version
And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And if ye eare saye I am not the eye: therfore I am not of the body: is he therfore not of the body?
Young's Literal Translation
and if the ear may say, `Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body;' it is not, because of this, not of the body?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And yf the eare saye: I am not the eye, therfore am I not a membre of the body, is he therfore not a membre of the body?
Mace New Testament (1729)
and if the ear should say, "because I am not the eye, I am not of the body;" is it therefore not of the body?
Simplified Cowboy Version
And just because you can't see out of your ear doesn't mean it's not just as useful to the body.

Contextual Overview

12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. 14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand," that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, "I am not part of the body because I am not an eye," would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? 18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

is it: 1 Corinthians 12:16, 1 Corinthians 12:22, Romans 12:3, Romans 12:10, Philippians 2:3

Reciprocal: 1 Corinthians 13:1 - I speak

Cross-References

Genesis 12:13
So please tell them you are my sister. Then they will spare my life and treat me well because of their interest in you."
Genesis 12:14
And sure enough, when Abram arrived in Egypt, everyone noticed Sarai's beauty.
Genesis 12:15
When the palace officials saw her, they sang her praises to Pharaoh, their king, and Sarai was taken into his palace.
Genesis 13:2
(Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.)
Genesis 20:14
Then Abimelech took some of his sheep and goats, cattle, and male and female servants, and he presented them to Abraham. He also returned his wife, Sarah, to him.
Genesis 24:35
"And the Lord has greatly blessed my master; he has become a wealthy man. The Lord has given him flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, a fortune in silver and gold, and many male and female servants and camels and donkeys.
Genesis 26:14
He acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him.
Genesis 32:5
and now I own cattle, donkeys, flocks of sheep and goats, and many servants, both men and women. I have sent these messengers to inform my lord of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to me.'"
Job 1:3
He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.
Job 42:12
So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And if the ear shall say,.... The organ that receives sounds, and can distinguish them, and in which member is placed the sense of hearing; and may design such as are hearers of the word of God, not merely externally, but internally; who hear so as to love, savour, and relish it; so as to understand and believe it, and to act in compliance with it; and distinguish it for themselves, though they may not be able to give a distinct account of it to others, or instruct others in it:

because I am not the eye: the organ of seeing, in which is seated the visive faculty, and which receives light, and uses it for the good of the body, whose superintendent it is; and may be expressive of the ministers of the Gospel, who are that to the church, as eyes are to the body; they are the light of the world, have a clear insight into the doctrines of the Gospel, and communicate their light to others; they are set in the highest place in the church, and as watchmen and overseers there, to instruct; guide, and direct the members of it:

I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? it certainly is; and so such as are only hearers of the Gospel, being affectionate, believing, understanding and fruitful hearers; though they have not such large knowledge and clear light, so as to be capable of overseeing and instructing others, yet are true and useful members of the church, are highly respected by Christ the head, and to be had in esteem by their fellow members, who may be superior to them.


 
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