Getting a tattoo is increasingly popular today.  What does the Bible say about tattoos?  Is it a sin to get a tattoo?

There is only one verse in the Bible which directly mentions tattoos, and that is Leviticus 19:28.

Lev 19:28  You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD. (NKJV)

Although the NKJV translation is accurate, it is easier to match the underlying Hebrew words from the KJV.

Lev 19:28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print [nathan] any marks [kethobeth qa’aqa] upon you: I am the LORD. (KJV)

The Hebrew word nathan is quite a common word with a broad meaning: give, put, make, etc.  The Hebrews words kethobeth qa’aqa are found only in this verse.  Kethobeth means letter or mark, and qa’aqa means incision or gash.

The meaning is clear: don’t put any marks on yourself by cutting your skin.  Modern tattooists use a needle to break the skin and inject ink.  Ancient tattooists probably used a needle coated with pigment.

Some might argue that the instruction against tattoos is only if the purpose of the tattoo is for the dead and thus there is no prohibition if you want to get a tattoo for some other reason.  However, the plain reading of this verse is don’t get tattoos for any reason.

There is a short passage in the New Testament which is worth looking at.

1Co 6:19  Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
1Co 6:20  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Our physical body is the property of God.  God owns us.  Therefore, what we do with our body should be done to glorify God.  Moreover, our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  So, is getting a tattoo like writing graffiti on the wall of a temple?

Is it a sin to get a tattoo?  The plain reading of Scripture is, yes.