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1 Corinthians 12:12-31
King James Version
1 Corinthians 12:12-31
King James Version
12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
14 For the body is not one member, but many.
15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
16 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?
17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?
20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.
21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.
25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?
30 Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
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1 Corinthians 12:12-31
New International Version
1 Corinthians 12:12-31
New International Version
Unity and Diversity in the Body
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body,(A) so it is with Christ.(B) 13 For we were all baptized(C) by[a] one Spirit(D) so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free(E)—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.(F) 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.(G)
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed(H) the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.(I) 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.(J)
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ,(K) and each one of you is a part of it.(L) 28 And God has placed in the church(M) first of all apostles,(N) second prophets,(O) third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing,(P) of helping, of guidance,(Q) and of different kinds of tongues.(R) 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues[b]?(S) Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire(T) the greater gifts.
Love Is Indispensable
And yet I will show you the most excellent way.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 12:13 Or with; or in
- 1 Corinthians 12:30 Or other languages
1 Corinthians 12:12-31
Christian Standard Bible
1 Corinthians 12:12-31
Christian Standard Bible
Unity Yet Diversity in the Body
12 For just as the body is one(A) and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ.(B) 13 For we were all baptized by[a] one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink.(C) 14 Indeed, the body is not one part but many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. 16 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. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted.(D) 19 And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that are weaker are indispensable. 23 And those parts of the body that we consider less honorable,(E) we clothe these with greater honor, and our unrespectable parts are treated with greater respect, 24 which our respectable parts do not need.
Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable, 25 so that there would be no division(F) in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. 26 So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ,(G) and individual members of it. 28 And God has appointed these in the church:(H) first apostles, second prophets, third teachers,(I) next miracles,(J) then gifts of healing,(K) helping, leading, various kinds of tongues.[b] 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all do miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?(L) 31 But desire(M) the greater gifts. And I will show you an even better way.
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1 Corinthians 12:12-31
New American Standard Bible 1995
1 Corinthians 12:12-31
New American Standard Bible 1995
12 For even (A)as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, (B)so also is Christ. 13 For [a](C)by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether (D)Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to (E)drink of one Spirit.
14 For (F)the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason [b]any the less a part of the body. 16 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 [c]any the less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has (G)placed the members, each one of them, in the body, (H)just as He desired. 19 If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now (I)there are many members, but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, [d]it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; 23 and those members of the body which we [e]deem less honorable, [f]on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, 24 whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, 25 so that there may be no [g]division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is [h]honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now you are (J)Christ’s body, and (K)individually members of it. 28 And God has [i](L)appointed in (M)the church, first (N)apostles, second (O)prophets, third (P)teachers, then [j](Q)miracles, then (R)gifts of healings, helps, (S)administrations, various (T)kinds of tongues. 29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of [k]miracles, are they? 30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not (U)interpret, do they? 31 But (V)earnestly desire the greater gifts.
And I show you a still more excellent way.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Corinthians 12:13 Or in
- 1 Corinthians 12:15 Lit not a part
- 1 Corinthians 12:16 Lit not a part
- 1 Corinthians 12:22 Lit to a much greater degree the members
- 1 Corinthians 12:23 Or think to be
- 1 Corinthians 12:23 Or these we clothe with
- 1 Corinthians 12:25 Lit schism
- 1 Corinthians 12:26 Lit glorified
- 1 Corinthians 12:28 Lit set some in
- 1 Corinthians 12:28 Or works of power
- 1 Corinthians 12:29 Or works of power
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.