The language of verse 12 does not indicate any sharp break with what precedes it, but the conjunction For is rather weak in Greek, so it would be better omitted in translation, as Good News Bible has done.

In this verse Paul’s thought is quite condensed and he “takes two steps in one” (Barrett) (1) Christians in the church are like various parts of the body, and (2) the church is the body of Christ. For this reason Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch goes to the other extreme from Good News Bible by, so to speak, forcing Paul to take one step at a time: “One can compare the church of Christ with a body that has many members.” Other English translations, including New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Translator’s New Testament, and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, agree essentially with Revised Standard Version‘s middle path: so it is with Christ. This solution is probably the better one.

The use of the words body and members in this section is fairly consistent. In most occurrences body has its literal meaning of a living physical body, including the head (verse 21). The context shows that the word translated members (Good News Bible‘s “parts”) is quite general, including not only arms and legs, but also other parts of the body. It is important for translators to choose terms that are live metaphors, that is, terms that are still capable of having a literal meaning. In that sense members is unsuitable in modern English, since it has almost lost its literal meaning of “limbs.” Good News Bible‘s translation “parts” is more suitable.

Many members: Paul’s point here is not the large numbers of parts in the body, but their diversity. So “different parts” (Good News Bible) is a better translation.

The position of Christ in the verse is different in Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible. In Greek its position at the end of the verse is emphatic, whereas it is more emphatic at the beginning of the sentence in English. common language translations and also Revised English Bible generally agree with Good News Bible‘s restructuring, which also makes the logic clearer.

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .