¹⁴ And a person’s body has more than one part. It has many parts. ¹⁵ The foot might say, “I am not a hand. So I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not stop the foot from being a part of the body. ¹⁶ The ear might say, “I am not an eye. So I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not make the ear stop being a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, the body would not be able to hear. If the whole body were an ear, the body would not be able to smell anything. ^18-19 If each part of the body were the same part, there would be no body. But truly God put the parts in the body as he wanted them. He made a place for each one of them. ²⁰ And so there are many parts, but only one body.

²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the foot, “I don’t need you!”

²⁷ All of you together are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of that body.