whereas our presentable parts have no such need. But God composed the body together, giving more abundant honor to the inferior part,
Parallel Translations
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whereas our presentable parts have no such need. But God composed the body together, giving more abundant honor to the inferior part,
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For oure honest members nede it not. But God hath so disposed the body ad hath geven most honoure to that parte which laked
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For our comely partes neede it not: but God hath tempered the body together, and hath giuen the more honour to that part which lacked,
Cross-references (2)
Passages linked to 1 Corinthians 12:24 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 2:25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.
- Genesis 3:11 God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 24. But God hath tempered the body together He…
24. But God hath tempered the body together He again repeats, what he had stated once before, (1 Corinthians 12:18,) but more explicitly, — that God has appointed this symmetry, and that with a view to the advantage of the whole body, because it cannot otherwise maintain its standing. “For whence comes it, that all the members are of their own accord concerned for the honor of a less comely member, and agree together to conceal its shame? This inclination has been implanted in them by God, because without this adjustment a schism in the body would quickly break out. Hence it appears that the body is not merely shattered, and the order of nature perverted, but the authority of God is openly set at naught, whenever any one assumes more than belongs to him.”
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 24 For our comely parts have no need: but…
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:
Ver. 24. For our comely parts] A fair face needs no dress, is its own testimonial, a bait without a hook, said Socrates, δελεαρ ανευ αγκιστρου..
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain God hath, in the wisdom of his providence, so…
God hath, in the wisdom of his providence, so ordered it, that as we have some parts of our body which are judged uncomely, and not for those noble uses that others are; so we have other parts that are, for use, more noble, yet in common repute more ignoble and uncomely: and the same wise God hath so built the body of man, as of both these to make a temperament so as they all concur in the composition of the same body, and more abundant honour in covering and clothing them is given to those parts, that, in the judgment of men, seemed most to lack honour, that their uncomeliness might by some artificial means be taken away.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For our comely parts have no need,.... As the…
For our comely parts have no need,.... As the face, eyes, nose, lips, cheeks, &c. which stand in no need of an external covering, of any outward ornament: so such as are blessed with the bounties of nature and providence, with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and are eminent for grace and holiness, and are enabled to walk worthy of their calling, and to have their conversations as become the Gospel of Christ, holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience, these have no need of such a covering, as the former have, to hide and conceal them from the world:
but God hath tempered the body together; he hath composed it in such a forth, constituted it in such an order, mixed and united all its parts in such a manner, as that they are all beneficial to each other; and such is the harmonious contexture of the whole, that it is a most beautiful structure:
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having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked; or, as the Syriac version renders it, "which is the least"; and such is the temperament and constitution of the church, having mixed rich and poor persons, of greater and lesser gifts, together, for mutual good.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Giving more abundant honour to that which lacked -…
Giving more abundant honour to that which lacked - As being cared for and served by the noblest parts.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 24. For our comely parts have no need]…
Verse 24. For our comely parts have no need] It would be easy to go into great detail in giving an anatomical description of the different members and parts to which the apostle refers, but it would not probably answer the end of general edification; and to explain every allusion made by the apostle, would require a minuteness of description which would not be tolerated except in a treatise on the anatomy of the human body. My readers will therefore excuse my entering into this detail.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Co 12:24-26. For our comely and graceful parts have…
1Co 12:24-26. For our comely and graceful parts have no need — Of being so adorned, as they appear to greater advantage uncovered; but God hath tempered the body together — Συνεκερασε, hath attempered and united in just proportions the several parts thereof; having given — To such as are naturally weak and without beauty; more abundant honour — Through their greater efficacy in the nourishment and preservation of the body, and by causing them to be cared for and served by the noblest parts. That there should be no schism in the body — No division of separate interests; but that the members should have the same care one for another — As being each an important part of the whole. And whether one member suffer, all the members — In consequence of their close union with, and dependance on each other, should suffer with it — As losing the assistance of the disabled member, and concerned to remove the cause of its suffering. Or one member be honoured — Clothed and gratified; all the members should rejoice with it — Deriving advantage from its welfare, and the ornament of one part being looked upon as that of the whole. “By comparing schism in the church to schism in the body, we are taught that it consists in a natural want of affection in some of the members toward their fellow-members, whereby contentions and animosities are produced. Further, by showing that the members of the body are so united as to be necessary to each other’s existence, the apostle hath taught us that there should be no envy nor strife among the disciples of Christ; but that each, by the right exercise of his proper gift, should assist his neighbour, and rejoice when his welfare is promoted.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For our comely parts - The face, etc. “Have…
For our comely parts - The face, etc. “Have no need.” No need of clothing or ornament.
But God hath tempered the body together - Literally, “mingled” or mixed; that is, has made to coalesce, or strictly and closely joined. He has formed a strict union; he has made one part dependent on another, and necessary to the harmony and proper action of another. Every part is useful, and all are suited to the harmonious action of the whole. God has so arranged it, in order to produce harmony and equality in the body, that those parts which are less comely by nature should be more adorned and guarded by apparel.
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Having given more abundant honour ... - By making it necessary that we should labor in order to procure for it the needful clothing; thus making it more the object of our attention and care. We thus bestow more abundant honor upon those parts of the body which a suitable protection from cold, and heat, and storms, and the sense of comeliness, requires us to clothe and conceal. The “more abundant honor,” therefore, refers to the greater attention, labor, and care which we bestow on those parts of the body.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Cicero, in his 1st liber de Off. speaking of…
Cicero, in his 1st liber de Off. speaking of the human body, says, Natura quæ formam nostram atque figuram, in qua esset species honesta, eam posuit in promptu; quæ partes autem corporis ad naturæ necessitatem datæ, aspectum essent deformem habituræ atque turpem, eas contexit atque abdidit. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain tempered . . . together--on the principle of mutual…
tempered . . . together--on the principle of mutual compensation.
to that part which lacked--to the deficient part [ALFORD], (Co1 12:23).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 24. Comely… no need—The ruling parts of the body…
24. Comely… no need—The ruling parts of the body in active life, the head, the hands, and sometimes the feet, need no concealments nor ornamental dress.
Tempered—Adjusted.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 24. tempered] So Wiclif. Disposed, Tyndale. Temperavit, Vulgate. Literally,…
24. tempered] So Wiclif. Disposed, Tyndale. Temperavit, Vulgate. Literally, mingled together.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (24) For our comely parts have no need.—These words…
(24) For our comely parts have no need.—These words (better, and our comely parts have no need) conclude the former verse. The words, “But God hath tempered,” commence a new sentence, in which the natural practice of covering parts of the body is stated to be in harmony with God’s evident intention.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain whereas our comely parts have no need: but God…
whereas our comely parts have no need: but God tempered the body together, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked ;
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The application of the figure:
The application of the figure:
v. 24. For our comely parts have no need; but God hath, tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked,
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v. 25. that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care one for another.
v. 26. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.
In the covering and adorning of the dishonorable, indecorous parts of the body we do not include the seemly parts, the head and the face, unless we wish to display barbarous tendencies. Their distinction is so evident that any ornament jars upon the beholder. But God caused to mix together, He compounded the members of the body, having assigned more honor to the part which is in need of it. The Greek word signifies the mixing of ingredients as it is done in the laboratory, and indicates "such a mutual adjustment of the parts in the body as shall counterbalance differences, so that one part shall qualify another. " It is not thus that the fine and honorable members are all in one place and the ignoble and indecorous in another, but that there is a complete harmony in appearance and in function of the body, together with an agreeable manifoldness and interchange. And the object is: that there be no schisms, no divisions, in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If the chief organs of the body should refuse to perform their work properly so long as the dishonorable members were still connected with the body, obviously the entire body would suffer. It is the will of the Creator that every part should contribute something to the general proportion, symmetry, and beauty of the body. It will also follow, quite naturally: And if one member should suffer, all the members suffer with it, and if one member is glorified, all the members rejoice with it. Here is an illustration of the unselfish care and solicitude of the members of the body for one another. So closely are they all united in the one organism of the body that the pain of any one organ is normally felt by the whole body as such; and, on the other hand, a special honor shown to any one member, especially to the comely members, causes the whole body to be filled with gladness, the attitude of the mind being reflected in the pose, in the gestures, in every lineament of the body.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.