If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Parallel translations
- WEB When one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Or when one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
- KJV And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
- NKJV And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
- NASB And if one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if a part is honored, all the parts rejoice with it.
- NLT If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
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
When one member suffers, all suffer together; when one is honored, all rejoice. The body shares deeply in each member's experience.
Overview
Paul describes the profound solidarity that should mark Christ's body. Genuine union means another's pain and joy become the whole church's pain and joy. This empathy is not optional sentiment but the natural fruit of being one body in Christ, who Himself sympathizes with His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Rom 12:15Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
- Gal 6:2Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
- Heb 13:3Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.
- 1 Pet 3:8Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tenderhearted and humble.
- 2 Cor 11:28–29Apart from these external trials, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.
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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 12:26 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
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