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OET (OET-LV) If all the body were an_eye, where is the hearing?
If all were hearing, where is the smelling?
OET (OET-RV) If your whole body was an eye, how could you hear? But then, if your whole body was an ear, how could you smell anything?
In this section Paul wrote about different spiritual gifts, or abilities, that the Holy Spirit gives to believers. He listed some of these spiritual gifts and taught that God gave them to us to help the church. He compared the body of Christ with the human body in order to explain that all of the spiritual gifts are important to the church.
Here are some other possible section headings:
Using spiritual gifts
God gives spiritual gifts to each member of the body
About spiritual gifts
If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?
If the whole body was nothing but an eye, how would it hear sound?
If the body of a person is only an eye, it is not able to hear anything.
If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?: This is a rhetorical question. Paul used it as a strong statement. He stated that if the whole body were an eye, it would not be able to hear.
Here are some ways to translate this strong statement:
Use a rhetorical question. For example:
If the whole body were just an eye only, how could it hear sound?
If in the body there were only eyes, how would it hear what people say?
Use a statement. For example:
If the whole body was only an eye, we couldn’t hear anything
If the body of a person was all eyes, then he could not hear sound
Translate this in a way that is natural for showing emphasis in your language.
If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
If the whole body was nothing but an ear, how would it be able to smell aromas?
If the body of a person is only an ear, it is not able to smell anything.
If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?: This is a rhetorical question on the same pattern as 12:17a. You should probably translate it in a similar way to 12:17a.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / hypo
εἰ ὅλον τὸ σῶμα ὀφθαλμός, ποῦ ἡ ἀκοή? εἰ ὅλον ἀκοή, ποῦ ἡ ὄσφρησις?
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἰ ὅλον τό σῶμα ὀφθαλμός ποῦ ἡ ἀκοή Εἰ ὅλον ἀκοή ποῦ ἡ ὄσφρησις)
Here Paul is using two hypothetical situations to teach the Corinthians. He wants them to imagine that the whole body was an eye or an ear. He uses these hypothetical situations because it is absurd for an eye or an ear to make up the whole body. Use a natural way in your language to introduce hypothetical situations. Alternate translation: [Suppose the whole body were an eye; where would the hearing be? Suppose the whole were an ear; where would the sense of smell be?]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun
ὅλον τὸ σῶμα & ὅλον
all all_‹were› (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἰ ὅλον τό σῶμα ὀφθαλμός ποῦ ἡ ἀκοή Εἰ ὅλον ἀκοή ποῦ ἡ ὄσφρησις)
Here Paul is speaking of “bodies” in general, not of one particular body. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this form with a form that refers to “bodies” in general. Alternate translation: [any whole body … any whole]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
ποῦ ἡ ἀκοή? & ποῦ ἡ ὄσφρησις?
where_‹is› the hearing & where_‹is› the smelling
Paul does not ask these questions because he is looking for information about where the senses of hearing and smell are. Rather, he asks them to involve the Corinthians in what he is arguing. The questions assume that the answer is “nowhere.” In other words, a body that is only an eye does not have hearing, and a body that is only an ear does not have smell. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express these questions by stating the ideas with strong negations. Alternate translation: [it would never hear anything. … it would never smell anything.] or [it would not have hearing. … it would not have the sense of smell.]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
(Occurrence 2) ὅλον
all_‹were›
Here Paul omits body because he stated it explicitly in the previous sentence. If your language needs to state body here, you could supply it from the previous sentence. Alternate translation: [the whole body]
OET (OET-LV) If all the body were an_eye, where is the hearing?
If all were hearing, where is the smelling?
OET (OET-RV) If your whole body was an eye, how could you hear? But then, if your whole body was an ear, how could you smell anything?
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.