I just watched a video in which a very prominent evangelist addressed the topic of tattoos. I’ve watched this person for years and have appreciated the insight into a lot of topics, yet this time the insight was tainted by incorrect information. The evangelist referenced their favored translation of the Bible, the Amplified, which mistranslated the text to support, condone, and encourage tattoos, when the original text (when researched) does not.
Isaiah 44:5 may say in the Amplified, “One will say, I am the Lord’s; and another one will write [even brand or tattoo] upon his hand, I am the Lord’s…” But the original phrase says “write WITH (not upon) the hand” and the word Amplified says is tattoo or brand is actually “kaw-thab” which means “write with” as in subscribe, record, write up…NOT brand or tattoo.
When God says in Isaiah 49:16 that He has graven us on the palms of His hands, the original word for graven is “khaw-kak”, which is like when the 10 commandments were carved into stone. When people say something is “written in stone” they are referencing that laws were enacted by literally carving them into stone (like the 10 Commandments). It is meant to convey He will not forget us, but does not mean He’s cutting His flesh to carve a reminder of us into His hand. Jesus also says He is the vine and we are the branches but that doesn’t mean He’s a plant. These are attempts to convey a message in terms we can understand.
Leviticus 19:28 says “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.” Notice the comma between instructional phrases. The first phrase is in regard “to the dead”, but the second phrase is not attached to this condition. It says clearly in no uncertain or figurative terms, we are to print no marks…”kah-ak-ah”…incisions or gashes…on us, because “I am the LORD”. When an instruction is followed by a reminder of who He is, it’s important to pay heed and be obedient.
Is it being judgmental to read the scriptures and take them for what they literally mean? No. We are actually commanded by Jesus to judge people by their fruits (actions, behaviors, decisions, words, etc), cautioning us to judge righteous judgment (judge by what He and the Bible teaches). Jesus also says in Luke 6:37 ”Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven“, which is in reference to the person’s soul and their eternal destination. We don’t have the right to make that determination. Only God does.
Just because God is gracious does not mean we can do anything we please and He’ll be fine with it, as Jesus also said in John 15:22 ”If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.“
In other words, when He speaks to us in modern times through the Bible and prayer, we no longer have an excuse for doing what He does not desire. Never intentionally or even unintentionally distort the Word of God to support desires not actually supported by scripture. That’s a dangerous place to be. Research. Always research.
NOTE: I have several loved ones (friends and family members) who have tattoos and whom I love dearly. What’s done is done. Whether it’s tattoos or other decisions we have made, once we understand, God just doesn’t want us to repeat the ones that are contrary to His desire for and instruction to us. What we do with our knowledge of right and wrong, as soon as we get it and forward, is what we will be held accountable for, just as Jesus told the woman “Go and sin no more.” When we know, we are to grow, and then go and not repeat.