New King James Version
Leviticus 19:28
28You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: 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 anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying. 27You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard. You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord. 29‘Do not prostitute your daughter, to cause her to be a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of wickedness. 30‘You 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 21:5‘They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
- Deuteronomy 14:1“You are the children of the Lord your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave the front of your head for the dead.
- 1 Kings 18:28So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them.
- Jeremiah 16:6Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; neither shall men lament for them, cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them.
- Jeremiah 48:37“For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped; On all the hands shall be cuts, and on the loins sackcloth—
- Mark 5:5And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.
- Revelation 13:16He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,
- Revelation 14:9Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand,
- Revelation 15:2And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.
- Revelation 16:2So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.
- Revelation 19:20Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
- Revelation 20:4And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries