English Standard Version
Leviticus 19:28
28You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:28 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.
- New International Version (NIV)“ ‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.
- New King James Version (NKJV)You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the Lord.
Context of Leviticus 19:28
26"You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes. 27You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord. 29"Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity. 30You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
Read all of Leviticus 19Leviticus 19:28 word by word
וְשֶׂ֣רֶט לָנֶ֗פֶשׁ לֹ֤א תִתְּנוּ֙ בִּבְשַׂרְכֶ֔ם וּכְתֹ֣בֶת קַֽעֲקַ֔ע לֹ֥א תִתְּנ֖וּ בָּכֶ֑ם אֲנִ֖י יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Ye shall not makeנָתַןnâthan · to give: makeH5414
- anyכְּתֹ֫בֶתkethôbeth · imprintH3793
- cuttingsשֶׂ֫רֶטώereţ ώâreţeth · incisionH8296
- in your fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
- for the deadנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: deadH5315
- nor printנָתַןnâthan · to give: doH5414
- any marksקַעֲקַעqa‛ăqa‛ · incisionH7085
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
Cross-references for Leviticus 19:28
- Leviticus 21:5They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body.
- Deuteronomy 14:1"You are the sons of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead.
- 1 Kings 18:28And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them.
- Jeremiah 16:6Both great and small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried, and no one shall lament for them or cut himself or make himself bald for them.
- Jeremiah 48:37"For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. On all the hands are gashes, and around the waist is sackcloth.
- Mark 5:5Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.
- Revelation 13:16Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,
- Revelation 14:9And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,
- Revelation 15:2And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.
- Revelation 16:2So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
- Revelation 19:20And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
- Revelation 20:4Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Commentaries on Leviticus 19:28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28Any cuttings in your flesh for the dead - That the ancients were very violent in their grief, tearing the hair and face, beating the breast, etc., is well known. Virgil represents the sister of Dido "tearing her face with her nails, and beating her breast with her fists." "Unguibus ora soror foedans, et pectora pugnis." Aen., l. iv., ver. 672. Nor print any marks upon you - It was a very ancient and a very general custom to carry marks on the body in…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 26-28Verses 26-28 Certain pagan customs, several of them connected with magic, are here grouped together. The prohibition to eat anything with the blood may indeed refer to the eating of meat which had not been properly bled in slaughtering (Leviticus 7:26; Leviticus 17:10, etc.): but it is not improbable that there may be a special reference to some sort of magical or idolatrous rites. Compare Ezekiel 33:25. Leviticus 19:26 Observe times - It is not clear…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 28cuts in your bodies: Cutting oneself was associated with Canaanite mourning practices (Leviticus 21:5; Deuteronomy 14:1). The word translated as "tattoo" might mean painting the body, a practice also associated with paganism.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2828. 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…Read the comment
Topics related to Leviticus 19:28
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Leviticus 19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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Commentaries