◄ Leviticus 19:28 ►"'Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.

Bible > Leviticus > Chapter 19 > Verse 28 ◄ Leviticus 19:28 ► Parallel Verses New International Version "'Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD. New Living Translation "Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the LORD. English Standard Version You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the LORD. New American Standard Bible  'You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD. King James Bible Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD. Holman Christian Standard Bible You are not to make gashes on your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves; I am Yahweh."  International Standard Version "You are not to make incisions in your flesh on account of the dead nor submit to cuts or tattoos. I am the LORD. NET Bible You must not slash your body for a dead person or incise a tattoo on yourself. I am the LORD. GOD'S WORD® Translation Never slash your body to mourn the dead, and never get a tattoo. I am the LORD. Jubilee Bible 2000 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you. I am the LORD. King James 2000 Bible You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks upon you: I am the LORD. American King James Version You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks on you: I am the LORD. American Standard Version Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am Jehovah. Douay-Rheims Bible You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh, for the dead, neither shall you make in yourselves any figures or marks: I am the Lord.  Darby Bible Translation And cuttings for a dead person shall ye not make in your flesh, nor put any tattoo writing upon you: I am Jehovah. English Revised Version Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD. Webster's Bible Translation Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD. World English Bible "'You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am Yahweh. Young's Literal Translation And a cutting for the soul ye do not put in your flesh; and a writing, a cross-mark, ye do not put on you; I am Jehovah. Parallel Commentaries Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary 19:1-37 laws. - There are some ceremonial precepts in this chapter, but most of these precepts are binding on us, for they are explanations of the ten commandments. It is required that Israel be a holy people, because the God of Israel is a holy God, ver. 2. To teach real separation from the world and the flesh, and entire devotedness to God. This is now the law of Christ; may the Lord bring every thought within us into obedience to it! Children are to be obedient to their parents, ver. 3. The fear here required includes inward reverence and esteem, outward respect and obedience, care to please them and to make them easy. God only is to be worshipped, ver. 4. Turn not from the true God to false ones, from the God who will make you holy and happy, to those that will deceive you, and make you for ever miserable. Turn not your eyes to them, much less your heart. They should leave the gleanings of their harvest and vintage for the poor, ver. 9. Works of piety must be always attended with works of charity, according to our ability. We must not be covetous, griping, and greedy of every thing we can lay claim to, nor insist upon our right in all things. We are to be honest and true in all our dealings, ver. 11. Whatever we have in the world, we must see that we get it honestly, for we cannot be truly rich, or long rich, with that which is not so. Reverence to the sacred name of God must be shown, ver. 12. We must not detain what belongs to another, particularly the wages of the hireling, ver. 13. We must be tender of the credit and safety of those that cannot help themselves, ver. 14. Do no hurt to any, because they are unwilling or unable to avenge themselves. We ought to take heed of doing any thing which may occasion our weak brother to fall. The fear of God should keep us from doing wrong things, though they will not expose us to men's anger. Judges, and all in authority, are commanded to give judgment without partiality, ver. 15. To be a tale-bearer, and to sow discord among neighbours, is as bad an office as a man can put himself into. We are to rebuke our neighbour in love, ver. 17. Rather rebuke him than hate him, for an injury done to thyself. We incur guilt by not reproving; it is hating our brother. We should say, I will do him the kindness to tell him of his faults. We are to put off all malice, and to put on brotherly love, ver. 18. We often wrong ourselves, but we soon forgive ourselves those wrongs, and they do not at all lessen our love to ourselves; in like manner we should love our neighbour. We must in many cases deny ourselves for the good of our neighbour. Ver. 31: For Christians to have their fortunes told, to use spells and charms, or the like, is a sad affront to God. They must be grossly ignorant who ask, What harm is there in these things? Here is a charge to young people to show respect to the aged, ver. 32. Religion teaches good manners, and obliges us to honour those to whom honour is due. A charge was given to the Israelites to be very tender of strangers, ver. 33. Strangers, and the widows and fatherless, are God's particular care. It is at our peril, if we do them any wrong. Strangers shall be welcome to God's grace; we should do what we can to recommend religion to them. Justice in weights and measures is commanded, ver. 35. We must make conscience of obeying God's precepts. We are not to pick and choose our duty, but must aim at standing complete in all the will of God. And the nearer our lives and tempers are to the precepts of God's law, the happier shall we be, and the happier shall we make all around us, and the better shall we adorn the gospel. Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead,.... Either with their nails, tearing their cheeks and other parts, or with any instrument, knife, razor, &c. Jarchi says, it was the custom of the Amorites, when anyone died, to cut their flesh, as it was of the Scythians, as Herodotus (d) relates, even those of the royal family; for a king they cut off a part of the ear, shaved the hair round about, cut the arms about, wounded the forehead and nose, and transfixed the left hand with arrows; and so the Carthaginians, who might receive it from the Phoenicians, being a colony of theirs, used to tear their hair and mouths in mourning, and beat their breasts (e); and with the Romans the women used to tear their cheeks in such a manner that it was forbid by the law of the twelve tables, which some have thought was taken from hence: and all this was done to appease the infernal deities, and to give them satisfaction for the deceased, and to make them propitious to them, as Varro (f) affirms; and here it is said to be made "for the soul", for the soul of the departed, to the honour of it, and for its good, though the word is often used for a dead body: now, according to the Jewish canons (g), whosoever made but one cutting for a dead person was guilty, and to be scourged; and he that made one for five dead men, or five cuttings for one dead man, was obliged to scourging for everyone of them:  nor print any marks upon you; Aben Ezra observes, there are some that say this is in connection with the preceding clause, for there were who marked their bodies with a known figure, by burning, for the dead; and he adds, and there are to this day such, who are marked in their youth in their faces, that they may be known; these prints or marks were made with ink or black lead, or, however, the incisions in the flesh were filled up therewith; but this was usually done as an idolatrous practice; so says Ben Gersom, this was the custom of the Gentiles in ancient times, to imprint upon themselves the mark of an idol, to show that they were his servants; and the law cautions from doing this, as he adds, to the exalted name (the name of God): in the Misnah it is said (h), a man is not guilty unless he writes the name, as it is said,Leviticus 19:28; which the Talmudists (i) and the commentators (k) interpret of the name of an idol, and not of God:  I am the Lord; who only is to be acknowledged as such, obeyed and served, and not any strange god, whose mark should be imprinted on them.  (d) Melpomene, sive, l. 4. c. 71. (e) Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 3. c. 7. (f) Apud Servium in Virgil. Aeneid. 3.((g) Misn. Maccot, c. 3. sect. 5. (h) Ibid. sect. 6. (i) T. Bab. Maccot, fol. 21. 1.((k) Jarchi, Maimon. Bartenora, & Ez Chayim in Misn. ut supra. (g))  Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary 28. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead—The practice of making deep gashes on the face and arms and legs, in time of bereavement, was universal among the heathen, and it was deemed a becoming mark of respect for the dead, as well as a sort of propitiatory offering to the deities who presided over death and the grave. The Jews learned this custom in Egypt, and though weaned from it, relapsed in a later and degenerate age into this old superstition (Isa 15:2; Jer 16:6; 41:5). nor print any marks upon you—by tattooing, imprinting figures of flowers, leaves, stars, and other fanciful devices on various parts of their person. The impression was made sometimes by means of a hot iron, sometimes by ink or paint, as is done by the Arab females of the present day and the different castes of the Hindus. It is probable that a strong propensity to adopt such marks in honor of some idol gave occasion to the prohibition in this verse; and they were wisely forbidden, for they were signs of apostasy; and, when once made, they were insuperable obstacles to a return. (See allusions to the practice, Isa 44:5; Re 13:17; 14:1). Leviticus 19:28 Additional Commentaries