Thank you for your question, "What does the Bible say about tattoos?" I am happy to be able to address this question for you. I do hope that my answer will help you glorify God, and that you will be able to have a better understanding of God’s desire for you.

As I researched this question, I found that one reference was in the Old Testament, in the book of Leviticus, Chapter 19:27, 28. In these verses, God was speaking to Moses, and giving him a set of laws for the Israelites, so that they might be pleasing to God, grow in their respect for Him, and honor Him. These laws also helped to make them aware of their separateness as a people, and to learn respect for the rights of their neighbors. (Paraphrase from commentary by F. LaGard Smith in The Daily Bible, New International Version. P. 219, ”1984, Harvest House Publishers). Here, in regards to mourning practices, God’s word states the following, taken from the New American Standard Version. "You shall not round off the side growth of your heads, nor harm the edges of your beard. You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead, nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves; I am the Lord."

It needs to be pointed out here that this scripture was given to the Israelite people at the time of the Old Testament, from God, and delivered to them by Moses. The New Testament tells us that Jesus’ death on the cross blotted out those laws, and took them out of the way (See Colossians 2:14). Jesus states in Matthew 5:17 that He did not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill the Law. If this is the case, and He took it out of the way, it means that He fulfilled it with His death on the cross, and we must be under a new law now, or the New Testament. The old law, or Old Testament, would have no affect for us now. We do still, however look to the Old Testament for the purpose of learning about God and how He dealt with His people.