diff --git a/t/README b/t/README
index 4252774f86..9a9daaf2af 100644
--- a/t/README
+++ b/t/README
@@ -945,6 +945,17 @@ see test-lib-functions.sh for the full list and their options.
    Merges the given rev using the given message.  Like test_commit,
    creates a tag and calls test_tick before committing.
 
+ - commit_body <rev>
+
+   Print the message body of <rev>, i.e. the contents of its commit
+   object with the header removed.  Use this instead of piping
+   "git cat-file commit" into "sed", which would hide a failure of
+   the git command.
+
+   Example:
+
+	commit_body HEAD >actual
+
  - test_set_prereq <prereq>
 
    Set a test prerequisite to be used later with test_have_prereq. The
diff --git a/t/test-lib-functions.sh b/t/test-lib-functions.sh
index 809c662124..03bf31d8ef 100644
--- a/t/test-lib-functions.sh
+++ b/t/test-lib-functions.sh
@@ -1433,6 +1433,14 @@ test_commit_message () {
 	test_cmp "$msg_file" actual.msg
 }
 
+# Print the message body of a commit
+# Usage: commit_body <rev>
+commit_body () {
+	git cat-file commit "$1" >.commit &&
+	sed -e "1,/^$/d" .commit &&
+	rm -f .commit
+}
+
 # Compare paths respecting core.ignoreCase
 test_cmp_fspath () {
 	if test "x$1" = "x$2"