40 Bible Verses about Sisters

Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father, and the younger men as brethren, the elder women as mothers, the younger as sisters, with all purity.

And they shall come near no dead person to defile themselves; but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that has had no husband, they may defile themselves.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests, the sons of Aaron, and tell them to not be defiled for the dead among his people. But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother and for his father and for his son and for his daughter and for his brother and for his virgin sister, that is near unto him, who has had no husband; for her he may be defiled.

All the days that they separate themselves unto the LORD they shall come in unto no dead body. They shall not make themselves unclean for their father or for their mother, for their brother or for their sister, when they die because the consecration of their God is upon their head.

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and departed from evil. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance was seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she asses, and a very great store of servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.read more.
And his sons went and had banquets in their houses, each one on his day, and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

And Tamar put ashes on her head and rent her garment of different colours that was on her and laid her hand on her head and went on crying. And Absalom, her brother, said unto her, Has Amnon thy brother been with thee? But now remain silent, my sister; he is thy brother; do not regard this thing in thy heart. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house.

And yet indeed, she is also my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father or daughter of thy mother, whether she is born at home or born abroad, their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.

The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister; she is thy father's near kinswoman. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister; for she is thy mother's near kinswoman.

And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be killed in the sight of the sons of their people; he has uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.

Cursed is he that lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.

And one has committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in thee has forced his sister, his father's daughter.

And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, which she gave birth unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her and defiled her. And his soul was joined unto Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he fell in love with the damsel and spoke unto her heart.read more.
And Shechem spoke unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife. And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; now his sons were with his cattle in the field, and Jacob remained silent until they were come. And Hamor, the father of Shechem, went out unto Jacob to speak with him. And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter, a thing which ought not to be done. And Hamor spoke with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem is joined to your daughter; I pray you give her to him as wife. And make ye marriages with us and give your daughters unto us and take our daughters unto you. And ye shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein and take you possessions therein. And Shechem also said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give. Ask me for as much dowry and gift as ye desire, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me; but give me the damsel to wife. And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully and talked because he had defiled Dinah their sister: And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised, for among us that is a reproach. But with this condition we will consent unto you: If ye will become as we are that every male of you be circumcised, then we will give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone. And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor's son. And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter and he was the most honourable of all the house of his father. Then Hamor and Shechem, his son, came unto the gate of their city and communed with the men of their city, saying, These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only with this condition will these men consent to dwell with us that we may be one people: if every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised. Shall not their livestock and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? Only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us. And unto Hamor and unto Shechem, his son, hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city. And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword and came upon the city boldly and slew all the males. And they slew Hamor and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and spoiled the city because they had defiled their sister. They took their sheep and their oxen and their asses and that which was in the city and that which was in the field and all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives they took captive and spoiled even all that was in the house. And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with a harlot?

And it came to pass after this that Absalom, the son of David, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar, and Amnon, the son of David, loved her. And Amnon was so distressed that he fell sick for his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and Amnon thought it difficult for him to do any thing to her. But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother, and Jonadab was a very astute man.read more.
And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king's son, becoming thinner from day to day? Wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister. And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed and pretend to be sick; and when thy father comes to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come and give me food and make the food in my sight that I may see it and eat it at her hand. So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick, and when the king came to see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar, my sister, come, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight that I may eat at her hand. Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon's house and make him something to eat. So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house, and he was lying down. And she took flour and kneaded it and made cakes in his sight and baked the cakes. Then she took a pan and poured them out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Send everyone out from me. And they all went out from him. Then Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the food into the chamber that I may eat from thy hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made and brought them into the chamber to Amnon, her brother. And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. And she answered him, No, my brother, do not force me, for no such thing ought to be done in Israel. Do not commit this folly. And I, where shall I go with my reproach? And as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now, therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king, for he will not withhold me from thee. Howbeit, he would not hearken unto her voice, but, being stronger than she, forced her and lay with her. Then Amnon hated her exceedingly so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone. And she said unto him, There is no cause; this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst unto me. But he would not hearken unto her. Then he called his servant that ministered unto him and said, Put now this woman out from me and bolt the door after her. And she had a garment of different colours upon her, for with such robes were the king's daughters that were virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out and bolted the door after her. And Tamar put ashes on her head and rent her garment of different colours that was on her and laid her hand on her head and went on crying.

And it came to pass after two full years that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baalhazor, which is beside Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king's sons. And Absalom came to the king and said, Behold now, thy slave has sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his slaves go with thy slave. And the king said to Absalom, No, my son, let us not all go lest we be burdensome unto thee. And he pressed him; however, he would not go but blessed him.read more.
Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee? But because Absalom pressed him, he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon, then kill him. Fear not; have I not commanded you? Be courageous, and be valiant. And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and they all got upon their mules and fled. And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that the rumour came to David, saying, Absalom has slain all the king's sons, and there is not one of them left. Then the king arose and tore his garments and lay on the earth; and all his slaves stood by with their clothes rent. And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother, answered and said, Do not let my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men, the king's sons, for only Amnon is dead, for by the mouth of Absalom this has been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar. Now, therefore, do not let my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king's sons are dead, for only Amnon is dead. But Absalom fled. And the young man that kept the watch lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there came many people by the way of the side of the mountain behind him. And Jonadab said unto the king, Behold, the king's sons come; as thy slave said, so it is. And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of speaking, that, behold, the king's sons came and lifted up their voice and wept. And the king also and all his slaves wept very sore.

And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was grievous in the land. And it came to pass when he was come near to enter into Egypt that he said unto Sarai, his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon; therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee that they shall say, This is his wife, and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.read more.
Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee. And it came to pass that when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. And he treated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep and oxen and he asses and menslaves and maidslaves and she asses and camels. But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why didst thou say, She is my sister? I might have taken her to me to wife; now, therefore, behold thy wife, take her, and go away. Then Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away and his wife with all that he had.

And Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur and sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, Behold, thou art a dead man, for the woman whom thou hast taken, for she is a man's wife.read more.
But Abimelech had not come near her, and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous person? Did he not say unto me, She is my sister? And she, even she herself said, He is my brother; in the simplicity of my heart and cleanness of my hands I have done this. And God said unto him in a dream, Yes, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me; therefore I did not allow thee to touch her. Now therefore restore the man his wife, for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live. And if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou and all that are thine.

And there was a famine in the land, in addition to the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech, king of the Philistines, unto Gerar. And the LORD appeared unto him and said, Do not go down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of; abide in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these lands, and I will confirm the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father;read more.
and I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven and will give unto thy seed all these lands, and in thy seed shall all the Gentiles of the earth be blessed because Abraham hearkened unto my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. Therefore Isaac dwelt in Gerar. And the men of that place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister, for he feared to say, She is my wife, lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah because she was fair to look upon. And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time that Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looking out a window, saw Isaac sporting with Rebekah, his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how didst thou say, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die because of her. And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? One of the people might easily have slept with thy wife, and thou should have brought the sin upon us.

And when Rachel saw that she gave Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister and said unto Jacob, Give me sons, or else I will die.

And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again and gave birth to a second son unto Jacob. And Rachel said, With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed; and she called his name Naphtali.

Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about in much serving and came to him and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me.read more.
And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things; but only one thing is necessary, and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had taken; for he had taken an Ethiopian woman. And they said, Has the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? Has he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)read more.
And the LORD spoke suddenly unto Moses and unto Aaron and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the testimony. And they three came out. Then the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forth. And he said, Hear now my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision and will speak unto him in dreams. My slave Moses is not so, who is faithful in all my house. With him I will speak mouth to mouth and by sight not by enigmas; he shall see the similitude of the LORD. Why then were ye not afraid to speak against my slave Moses? Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle, and, behold, Miriam was leprous as the snow; and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, in which we have done foolishly, and we have sinned. Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother's womb. Then Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. So Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days, and the people did not journey until Miriam was brought in again.

But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons that were being slain, and kept him and his nurse in the bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada, the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah) hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not.

But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain.

And a man of the house of Levi went and took to wife a daughter of Levi, who conceived and gave birth to a son, and seeing that he was beautiful, she hid him three months. And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes and daubed it with slime and with pitch and put the child in it, and she laid it in the reeds by the river's brink.read more.
And his sister stood afar off to see what would happen to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river, and walking with her maidens along by the river's side, she saw the ark among the reeds; she sent her maid to bring it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child, and, behold, the babe wept. And having compassion on him, she said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then his sister said unto Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.

Then all his brethren came unto him and all his sisters and all those that had been of his acquaintance before and ate bread with him in his house; and they condoled him and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him; each one also gave him an ewe, and an earring of gold.

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD and the LORD slew him. Then Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife and marry her and raise up seed to thy brother.read more.
And Onan knew that the seed would not be his, and it came to pass when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he corrupted it on the ground, to not give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the LORD, and he slew him also. Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, Remain a widow at thy father's house until Shelah, my son, is grown; for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.

I commend unto you Phebe our sister, who is a servant of the congregation which is at Cenchrea,

If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says unto them, Depart in peace; be ye warmed and filled; but ye do not give them those things which are needful for the body; what shall it profit them? Even so faith, if it does not have works, is dead in and of itself.

If I wait, Sheol is my house; I have made my bed in the darkness. I have said to the pit, Thou art my father; to the worms, my mother, and my sister. And where shall my hope be now? As for my hope, who shall see it?read more.
They shall go down to the bars of Sheol, and together they shall rest in the dust.

My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers; write them upon the tablet of thine heart.read more.
Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister, and call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the woman belonging to someone else, from the stranger who flatters with her words.

The LORD said unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which rebellious Israel has done? She is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there has played the harlot. And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she did not return. And her rebellious sister Judah saw it. And I saw when for all the causes by which rebellious Israel committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorce; yet her rebellious sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.read more.
And it came to pass through her judging her whoredom to be a light thing that the land became defiled and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. And yet for all this her rebellious sister Judah has never turned unto me with her whole heart, but untruthfully, said the LORD.

Behold, every one that makes proverbs shall make this proverb regarding thee, saying: As is the mother so is her daughter. Thou art thy mother's daughter that discarded her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters who discarded their husbands and their children: your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite. And thine elder sister is Samaria with her daughters that dwell at thy left hand; and thy younger sister that dwells at thy right hand is Sodom with her daughters.read more.
Yet thou hast not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations; but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways. As I live, said the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister has never done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the afflicted and needy. And they filled themselves with arrogance and committed abomination before me, and when I saw it, I took them away. Neither has Samaria committed half of thy sins, but thou hast multiplied thy abominations more than they and hast justified thy sisters with all thy abominations which thou hast done. Thou also, who hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they; they are more righteous than thou; be thou confounded also and bear thy shame in that thou hast justified thy sisters. When I shall turn their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then I will release the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them: that thou may bear thine own shame and may be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their first state, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their first state, thou and thy daughters shall return to your first state. Sodom, thy sister was not mentioned by thy mouth in the time of thy pride, before thy wickedness discovered itself, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Syria and of all the daughters of the Philistines round about, who despise thee in everything. Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, said the LORD. For thus hath the Lord GOD said: Will I deal with thee even as thou hast done, despising the oath to invalidate the covenant? Nevertheless I will remember my covenant that I made with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will confirm unto thee an everlasting covenant. Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. And I will confirm my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: that thou may remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, said the Lord GOD.

While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brothers stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brothers?read more.
And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brothers! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in the heavens, the same is my brother and sister and mother.

There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. The multitude was sitting all around him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brothers and sisters seek thee without. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother or my brethren?read more.
And looking round about on those who sat about him, he said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever doeth the will of God, the same is my brother and my sister and my mother.

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, and even his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

And every one that has forsaken houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my name's sake shall receive a hundredfold and shall inherit eternal life.

And answering him, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, There is no one that has left house or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake and the gospel's who shall not receive one hundredfold now in this time: houses and brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the world to come eternal life.