The eye can’t tell the hand, “I have no need for you,” or again the head to the feet, “I have no need for you.”
Parallel translations
- KJV 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.
- BSB The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.” Nor can the head say to the feet, “I do not need you.”
- NKJV And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
- NASB 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.”
- NLT 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.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The eye cannot tell the hand, nor the head the feet, 'I have no need of you.' No believer may treat another as unnecessary.
Overview
Paul now turns from the inferiority complex of some to the superiority complex of others. More prominent members cannot dismiss the less prominent as dispensable. Mutual need is built into the body's design, calling the gifted to humility and interdependence rather than self-sufficiency.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Neh 4:16–21From that time forth, half of my servants did the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.
- Ezra 10:1–5Now while Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before God’s house, there was gathered together to him out of Israel a very great assembly of men and women and children; for the people wept very bitterly.
- Job 29:11For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it commended me:
- 1 Sam 25:32David said to Abigail, “Blessed is Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sent you today to meet me!
- Num 10:31–32He said, “Don’t leave us, please; because you know how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 12:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.