1 Corinthians 12:17

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?

1 Corinthians 12:17 in Other Translations

17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?

17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?

17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?

17 If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell?

17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?

1 Corinthians 12:17 Meaning and Commentary

1 Corinthians 12:17

If the whole body were an eye
And nothing else,

where were the hearing?
there would be no ear, and so no sense of hearing: and if the whole were hearing: or only consisted of a member capable of the sense of hearing,

where were the smelling?
there would be no nose, the organ of smelling, and that sense would be wanting: thus if the church only consisted of ministers of the Gospel, of men of eminent light and knowledge, qualified for the preaching of the word to others, there would be no hearers; and on the other hand, if it only consisted of hearers, of such who only could hear the word to their own advantage, there would be none of a quick understanding, or of a quick smell to discern perverse things, to distinguish truth from error, to discern spirits, and direct the rest of the members to wholesome and savoury food, and preserve them from what would be hurtful and pernicious to them.

1 Corinthians 12:17 In-Context

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 the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.

19 If they were all one part, where would the body be?