You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks on you: I am the LORD.
Cuttings
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.
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.
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: …
Revelation 14:9,11 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, …
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.
or put tattoo marks on yourselves
The prohibition against tattoo marks is linked to the cultural and religious practices of the time. Tattoos were often associated with idolatry, marking allegiance to a deity or as part of pagan rituals. This commandment emphasizes the need for the Israelites to remain separate from idolatrous practices and to reflect their covenant relationship with God. The New Testament reiterates the principle of the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), encouraging believers to honor God with their bodies.
I am the LORD
This declaration serves as a reminder of God's authority and the covenant relationship between Him and the Israelites. It reinforces the reason for the commandment: obedience to God, who is holy and sovereign. The phrase "I am the LORD" appears frequently throughout Leviticus, emphasizing God's holiness and the call for His people to be holy as well (Leviticus 11:44-45). It also points to the ultimate fulfillment of holiness in Jesus Christ, who perfectly embodied obedience to the Father and calls His followers to live in holiness (1 Peter 1:15-16).
– The Lord is addressing a common pagan mourning ritual that involved self-harm to placate or honor departed spirits.
• Deuteronomy 14:1 makes the same point, calling Israel “sons of the LORD your God” and forbidding self-cutting for the dead.
• 1 Kings 18:28 shows Baal’s prophets slashing themselves, highlighting how foreign this practice was to covenant faith.
• Because our bodies are God’s workmanship (Psalm 139:14) and a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1), self-inflicted wounds for any spiritual purpose distort His design.
• The principle endures: grief is natural (John 11:35), but harming the body to express it is not.
– Ancient tattoos often signified ownership by a deity or allegiance to a cult; God’s people were to bear His name in character, not in body art.
• Isaiah 44:5 pictures a believer writing “Belonging to the LORD” on his hand, yet the emphasis is the heart’s devotion, not a mandated mark.
• 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reminds believers that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit; any permanent alteration must honor that stewardship.
• While cultural meanings of tattoos vary today, the timeless call is to weigh motives: Are we reflecting holiness (1 Peter 1:15-16) or conformity to the world (Romans 12:2)?
• The command is not about aesthetics alone; it is about avoiding identification with idolatry and ensuring that our bodies broadcast allegiance to Christ, not to pagan symbols.
– Every prohibition rests on God’s character and authority.
• Leviticus 11:44-45 grounds holiness in who God is: “Be holy, for I am holy.”
• His lordship covers body and soul; He redeemed Israel from Egypt (Exodus 20:2) and redeems believers through Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19), giving Him absolute claim over us.
• Obedience is relational, not ritualistic. We refrain from practices He forbids because we trust His wisdom and honor His covenant love (John 14:15).
Leviticus 19:28 commands God’s people to avoid self-cutting and tattooing tied to pagan worship or mourning, underscoring that our bodies belong exclusively to Him. The principle is timeless: honor God with your body, resist practices rooted in idolatry, and let every physical choice reflect the Lord who purchased you.
(28) Cuttings in your flesh for the dead.--It was not only the custom for mourners to let their hair grow long and wear it in a disorderly manner (see Leviticus 10:6), but the bereaved in the East to this day make cuts and incisions in their bodies in mourning for the dead. The Israelite, however, who is created in the image of God, and who is to be as holy as the Lord is holy, must not thus disfigure his body (see Leviticus 21:6; Deuteronomy 14:1, &c.); he must not sorrow as others which have no hope. For transgressing this law the offender received forty stripes save one.Nor print any marks upon you.--This, according to the ancient authorities, was effected by making punctures in the skin to impress certain figures or words, and then filling the cut places with stibium, ink, or some other colour. The practice of tattooing prevailed among all nations of antiquity, both among savages and civilised nations, The slave had impressed upon his body the initials of his master, the soldier those of his general, and the worshipper the image of his tutelar deity. To obviate this disfiguration of the body which bore the impress of God's image, and yet to exhibit the emblem of his creed, the Mosaic Law enacted that the Hebrew should have phylacteries which he is to bind as "a sign" upon his hand, and as "a memorial" between his eyes "that the Lord's law may be in his mouth" (Exodus 13:9; Exodus 13:16; Deuteronomy 6:8; Deuteronomy 11:18). . . .
Parallel Commentaries ...