For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. Study the Bible, pray and ask God for wisdom, and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit.ĭo you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. 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. (excerpt from " 7 Questions to Answer When Considering a Tattoo", .) 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. 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.
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