What does the Bible say about tattoos?

What Leviticus 19:28 says

The verse reads "do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves." It sits in the law of Moses, alongside many commands for ancient Israel, and is connected in the same verse to mourning practices for the dead.

Why Christians read it differently

Some Christians see the command as tied to its original setting and to the parts of the law Christians are no longer bound by, like food laws. Others see a lasting principle about honouring the body and choose to avoid tattoos. Both are sincere readings.

Questions worth asking

Whatever view you hold, Christians often ask: what does this mean to me, would it honour God and others, and am I doing this freely or under pressure? Those questions tend to matter more than the ink itself.

God looks at the heart

If you already have tattoos, you are not less loved. Scripture says "the Lord looks at the heart." Your worth to God is not written on your skin.

“ ‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord., Leviticus 19:28

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”, 1 Samuel 16:7