Leviticus 19 · Verse 28

Leviticus 19:28

Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:28, King James Version

Leviticus 19:28 in other translations

BSBYou must not make any cuts in your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.
WEB“‘You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am the LORD.
ASVYe shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am Jehovah.
YLT‘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.
DARBYAnd cuttings for a dead person shall ye not make in your flesh, nor put any tattoo writing upon you: I am Jehovah.
BBEYou may not make cuts in your flesh in respect for the dead, or have marks printed on your bodies: I am the Lord.
WebsterYe shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

What does Leviticus 19:28 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
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 (Is 15:2; Jr 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, Is 44:5; Re 13:17; 14:1).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 28 Any 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 honor of the object of their worship. All the castes of the Hindoos bear on their foreheads or elsewhere what are called the sectarian marks, which distinguish them, not only in a civil but also in a religious point of view, from each other. Most of the barbarous nations lately discovered have their faces, arms, breasts, etc., curiously carved or tattooed, probably for superstitious purposes. Ancient writers abound with accounts of marks made on the face, arms, etc., in honor of different idols; and to this the inspired penman alludes, Rev 13:16, Rev 13:17; Rev 14:9, Rev 14:11; Rev 15:2; Rev 16:2; Rev 19:20; Rev 20:4, where false worshippers are represented as receiving in their hands and in their forehead the marks of the beast. These were called στιγματα stigmata among the Greeks, and to these St. Paul refers when he says, I bear about in my body the Marks (stigmata) of the Lord Jesus; Gal 6:17. I have seen several cases where persons have got the figure of the cross, the Virgin Mary, etc., made on their arms, breasts, etc., the skin being first punctured, and then a blue colouring matter rubbed in, which is never afterward effaced. All these were done for superstitious purposes, and to such things probably the prohibition in this verse refers. Calmet, on this verse, gives several examples. See also Mariner's Tonga Islands, vol. i. p. 311-313.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Leviticus 19:28 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְשֶׂ֣רֶטve.Se.retand cut[s]H8296
לָנֶ֗פֶשׁla.Ne.feshfor a corpseH5315
לֹ֤אlo'notH3808
תִתְּנוּ֙ti.te.Nuyou will makeH5414
בִּבְשַׂרְכֶ֔םbiv.sar.Khemin flesh yourH1320
וּכְתֹ֣בֶתu.khe.Toetand [the] inscription ofH3793
קַֽעֲקַ֔עka.'a.Ka'an incisionH7085
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
תִתְּנ֖וּti.te.Nuyou will makeH5414
בָּכֶ֑םba.Khemin <the> yourselves
אֲנִ֖י'a.NiIH589
יְהוָֽה\׃Yah.weh[am] YahwehH3068

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Leviticus 19:28

  • Deuteronomy 14:1

    Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.

  • 1 Kings 18:28

    And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.

  • Leviticus 21:5

    They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

  • Leviticus 21:1

    And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:

  • Jeremiah 16:6

    Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them:

  • Jeremiah 48:37

    For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.

  • Mark 5:5

    And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

  • Revelation 13:16-17

    And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

  • Revelation 20:4

    And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

  • Revelation 15:2

    And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

  • Revelation 16:2

    And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

  • Revelation 14:11

    And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
cuttings.
21:5; De 14:1; 1Ki 18:28; Jer 16:6; 48:37; Mr 5:5
print.
Re 13:16,17; 14:9,11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Leviticus 19:27

    Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.

  • Leviticus 19:28

    Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.

  • Leviticus 19:29

    Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.

Read all of Leviticus 19

Leviticus 19:28 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y no haréis rasguños en vuestra carne por un muerto, ni imprimiréis en vosotros señal alguna: Yo Jehová.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et vous ne ferez point d’incisions dans votre chair pour un mort, et vous ne vous ferez pas de tatouages. Moi, je suis l’ Éternel.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Einschnitte wegen eines Toten sollt ihr an eurem Fleische nicht machen; und Ätzschrift sollt ihr an euch nicht machen. Ich bin Jehova.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et super mortuo non incidetis carnem vestram, neque figuras aliquas aut stigmata facietis vobis. Ego Dominus.