21 Top Bible Verses About Tattoos and Piercings

Is it a sin to get a tattoo or a piercing? According to the Scriptures, God wants His people to be set apart. The Bible verse most Christians refer to is Leviticus 19:2 KJV:

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

The context of the verse was referring to the pagan rituals.

Evidence suggests that in Canaan, the Canaanites would slash their bodies for their religious rituals. In Egypt, tattoos on women signified fertility and were considered a good luck charm during birthing.

For any person looking to get a tattoo or a piercing, ask yourself about their deeper intentions. While humans look at the actions, God looks at the heart.

Some people might be thinking of putting a Christian tattoo on to honor God. Some people might be thinking about trying the other tattoo ideas. Ultimately, your body is God's temple, and you should honor God with your bodies.

Let's dive into what the Bible says about tattoos.

Bible Verses about Tattoos and Piercings

1 Timothy 2:9 KJV

In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;

Ephesians 5:10 KJV

Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

Revelation 19:16 KJV

And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Romans 12:1 KJV

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

1 Corinthians 6:19 KJV

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

1 Peter 3:3-4 KJV

Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

Colossians 3:14 KJV

And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

1 Corinthians 10:23 KJV

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.

1 Corinthians 9:27 KJV

But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

1 Corinthians 6:18 KJV

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

Romans 6:13 KJV

Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Deuteronomy 14:1 KJV

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 Corinthians 6:19-20 KJV

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Leviticus 19:28 KJV

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

Bible Verses About Honoring God With Our Bodies

1 Corinthians 10:31 KJV

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Romans 1:24 KJV

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

2 Corinthians 5:10 KJV

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

1 Corinthians 3:17 KJV

If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Ezekiel 16:12 KJV

And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 KJV

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

1 Corinthians 15:44 KJV

It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

Verdict: Are Tattoos a Sin?

As you read more from God's words, there are numerous mentions of the body. It is a God's temple for the spirit. People who defile the temple are in sin. Take this example of Jesus at the temple in Matthew 21:12-13 KJV:

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

While there is no clear definition one way or the other, you should examine your heart and your intentions on why you want a tattoo or a piercing. Just as in anything else, you should honor God in all that you do.