Leviticus 21:5

21:5 Priests ¹  must not have a bald spot shaved on their head, they must not shave the corner of their beard, and they must not cut slashes in their body. ² 

Deuteronomy 14:1

The Holy and the Profane

14:1 You are children ³  of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald ⁴  for the sake of the dead.

Deuteronomy 14:1

The Holy and the Profane

14:1 You are children ⁵  of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald ⁶  for the sake of the dead.

Deuteronomy 18:1

Provision for Priests and Levites

18:1 The Levitical priests ⁷  – indeed, the entire tribe of Levi – will have no allotment or inheritance with Israel; they may eat the burnt offerings of the Lord and of his inheritance. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 16:6

16:6 Rich and poor alike will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair to show their grief for them. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 48:37

48:37 For all of them will shave their heads in mourning.

They will all cut off their beards to show their sorrow.

They will all make gashes in their hands.

They will all put on sackcloth. ¹⁰ 

Mark 5:5

5:5 Each night and every day among the tombs and in the mountains, he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (priests, see the beginning of v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “and in their body they shall not [cut] slash[es]” (cf. Lev 19:28). The context connects these sorts of mutilations with mourning rites (cf. Lev 19:27-28 above).

³ tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); TEV, NLT “people.”

⁴ sn Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald. These were pagan practices associated with mourning the dead; they were not be imitated by God’s people (though they frequently were; cf. 1 Kgs 18:28; Jer 16:6; 41:5; 47:5; Hos 7:14 [LXX]; Mic 5:1). For other warnings against such practices see Lev 21:5; Jer 16:5.

⁵ tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); TEV, NLT “people.”

⁶ sn Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald. These were pagan practices associated with mourning the dead; they were not be imitated by God’s people (though they frequently were; cf. 1 Kgs 18:28; Jer 16:6; 41:5; 47:5; Hos 7:14 [LXX]; Mic 5:1). For other warnings against such practices see Lev 21:5; Jer 16:5.

⁷ tn The MT places the terms “priests” and “Levites” in apposition, thus creating an epexegetical construction in which the second term qualifies the first, i.e., “Levitical priests.” This is a way of asserting their legitimacy as true priests. The Syriac renders “to the priest and to the Levite,” making a distinction between the two, but one that is out of place here.

⁸ sn Of his inheritance. This is a figurative way of speaking of the produce of the land the Lord will give to his people. It is the Lord’s inheritance, but the Levites are allowed to eat it since they themselves have no inheritance among the other tribes of Israel.

⁹ sn These were apparently pagan customs associated with mourning (Isa 15:2; Jer 47:5) which were forbidden in Israel (Lev 19:8; 21:5) but apparently practiced anyway (Jer 41:5).

¹⁰ tn Heb “upon every loin [there is] sackcloth.” The word “all” is restored here before “loin” with a number of Hebrew mss and a number of versions. The words “in mourning” and “to show their sorrow” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to give the average reader some idea of the significance of these acts.