The following Bible verses that can apply to tattoos are guiding questions to help you think through your decision. You still need to think before you ink, especially if you’re a Christian. With this said, while there may be no clear passage in the Bible addressing tattoos, this is hardly a license for unrestrained tattooing. Leviticus 19:28 seems to imply this when it says, “you will not make cuttings in your flesh, for the dead, nor print marks on you.” In light of this information from Egypt and Canaan, it would seem God was forbidding scarification, not tattooing as we know it. Archeology, backed by biblical texts, indicates the Canaanites would customarily slash their bodies for ritualistic purposes (1 Kings 18:28), especially to mourn their dead and honor their gods. In Canaan, evidence indicates that instead of marking the body with ink, more extreme scarification measures, like branding, slashing, or gashing the skin were used. Evidence suggests that tattooing the body parts of women associated with fertility (breasts, thighs, and abdomen) was believed to be a good luck charm to protect the birthing process. Recent archeology indicates that, while Egypt did tattoos, it was limited to women. The background of this law was that Israel, after being rescued from slavery, was between Egypt and Canaan. This is probably why the KJV, written in the early 1600s, is closer to the literal translation saying, “ye shall not.print marks upon you.” Further, the word tattoo did not enter into the English language until the late 1700s. The word for marks, also used here alone, has an uncertain root, so we’re not really sure what the word means. Leviticus 19:28 literally translates, “And a cutting for the dead you will not make in your flesh, and writing marks you will not make on you I am the Lord.” The word writing refers to inscribed or engraved symbols/words and is used only here. For example, the NIV reads, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. Since the word tattoo does appear in this verse in some popular English translations, this argument seems straightforward. Some Christians condemn all tattooing as immoral because God clearly forbids them in Leviticus 19:28. The Bible makes no specific reference to tattoos as we understand them in modern times. The short answer is nothing, at least nothing definitive. info under CC BY 3.Tattoos in the Bible - What does Scripture say?Īs the popularity of tattoos continues to increase, many Christians wonder what the Bible has to say about tattoos. Some scripture references/categories courtesy of Open Bible. If a verse or topic does not belong, please contact us. Topics and verses are auto-generated from user searches. Revelation 19:16 - And he hath on vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. (Read More.)Įphesians 5:10 - Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.Įphesians 5:27 - That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish.Įphesians 5:29 - For no man ever yet hated his own flesh but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:ġ Thessalonians 5:23 - And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly and your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.ġ Timothy 2:9 - In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array Galatians 3:23-25 - But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Romans 12:2 - And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.ġ Corinthians 3:16 - Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?ġ Corinthians 6:19-20 - What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (Read More.)ġ Corinthians 6:19 - What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?ġ Corinthians 10:23 - All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.ġ Corinthians 10:31 - Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Romans 1:24 - Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Leviticus 19:28 - Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I the LORD.ĭeuteronomy 14:1 - Ye the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
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