40 Bible Verses about Sisters

Do not sharply rebuke an elder, but exhort as a father, and the younger ones as brothers, older women as mothers, the younger as sisters in all purity.

And he shall not come near any dead person to defile himself; but they may defile themselves for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister who has had no husband.

And Jehovah said to Moses, Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people. But for his kin that is near him, for his mother and for his father and for his son and for his daughter and for his brother and for his sister, a virgin, who is near to him, who has had no husband, for her he may be defiled.

All the days that he separates to Jehovah, he shall not come near any dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, or for his brother, or for his sister, when they die, because his separation to his God is upon his head.

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. And that man was perfect and upright, and one who feared God and turned aside from evil. And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters. And his possessions were seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.read more.
And his sons went and feasted in the house of each one on his day. And they sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the robe of many colors that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on, crying. And Absalom her brother said to her, Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother. Do not set your heart on this thing. And Tamar remained desolate in the house of her brother Absalom.

And yet truly she is my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother. And she became my wife.

You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother, born at home or born away. Their nakedness you shall not uncover.

You shall not uncover the nakedness of the daughter of your father's wife, begotten of your father. She is your sister. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister. She is your father's near kinswoman. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister. For she is your 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 cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.

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

And a man has done abomination with his neighbor's wife; and a man has defiled his daughter-in-law in unchaste acts; and a man has humbled within you his sister, his father's daughter.

And Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to 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 humbled her. And his soul clung to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke to the heart of the girl.read more.
And Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, Get me this girl for a wife. And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. And his sons were with his cattle in the field. And Jacob kept silent until they had come. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard. And the men were furious, and they were very angry, because he had done folly in Israel, in lying with the daughter of Jacob. And it ought not to be done so. And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him for a wife. And you make marriages with us, giving your daughters to us, and taking our daughters to you. And you shall live with us. And the land shall be before you. Live and trade in it, and get possessions in it. And Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, Let me find grace in your eyes, and whatever you shall say to me I will give. Heap upon me ever so much price and dowry, and I will give according as you shall say to me. But give me the girl for a wife. And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, speaking with deceit because he had defiled Dinah their sister. And they said to them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised. For it is a reproach to us. But in this we will agree with you, if you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised, then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will live with you, and we will become one people. But if you will not listen to us, to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will go. And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor's son. And the young man did not hesitate to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter. And he was more honorable than all the house of his father. And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and talked with the men of their city, saying, These men are at peace with us. Therefore let them live in the land, and trade in it. For behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only on this condition will the men agree to us, to live with us, to be one people, if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. Shall not their cattle and their substance and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will live with us. And all that went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to Shechem his son. And every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city. And it happened on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took each his sword and came upon the city boldly, and killed all the males. And they killed 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 plundered 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 plundered even all that was in the house. And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, You have troubled me, to make me stink among those who live in the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. And I, being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and kill me. And I shall be destroyed, my house and I. And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with a harlot?

And it happened after this 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 troubled that he fell sick for his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin. And Amnon thought it hard for him to do anything to her. And Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of David's brother Shimeah. And Jonadab was a very crafty man.read more.
And he said to him, Why are you, the king's son, lean from day to day? Will you not tell me? And Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister. And Jonadab said to him, Lay down on your bed and make yourself sick. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, Please let my sister Tamar come and give me food, and prepare the food in my sight so that I may see and eat it at her hand. And Amnon lay down and made himself sick. And when the king had come to see him, Amnon said to the king, Please let my sister Tamar come and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, so that I may eat at her hand. And David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to your brother Amnon's house, and prepare food for him. And Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house. And he had lain down. And she took flour and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes. And she took a pan and poured them out before him. But he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Make every man go out from me. And every man went out from him. And Amnon said to Tamar, Bring the food into the room so that I may eat out of your hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the room to Amnon her brother. And when she had brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, Come lie with me, my sister. And she answered him, No, my brother, do not humble me. For no such thing ought to be done in Israel. Do not do this folly. And I, where shall I cause my shame to go? And as for you, you shall be as one of the fools in Israel. But now please speak to the king. For he will not withhold me from you. But he would not listen to her voice; but being stronger than she, he forced her and lay with her. Then Amnon hated her with a great hatred. And the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, Get up and go. And she said to him, There is no cause. This evil in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me. But he would not listen to her. And he called his servant who waited on him and said, And put this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her. And she had a robe of many colors upon her, for the king's virgin daughters were clothed with such robes. And his servant brought her out and bolted the door after her. And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the robe of many colors that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on, crying.

And it happened after two full years Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, beside Ephraim. And Absalom invited all the king's sons. And Absalom came to the king and said, Behold now, your servant has shearers. Please let the king and his servants go with your servant. And the king said to Absalom, No, my son, let us not all go now, lest we be too heavy upon you. And he pressed him. He would not go, however, but blessed him.read more.
Then Absalom said, If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us? And the king said to him, Why should he go with you? But Absalom pressed him, so that he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. And Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, And watch when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, Strike Amnon, you shall kill him. Do not fear. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous, and be brave. And the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. And all the king's sons arose. And they each got on his mule and fled. And it happened while they were in the way, news came to David, saying, Absalom has killed all the king's sons, and there is not one of them left. And the king arose and tore his garments, and lay on the earth. And all his servants stood by with their clothes torn. And Jonadab, the son of David's brother Shimeah answered and said, Let not my lord think that they have killed 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 humbled his sister Tamar. And now 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, many people came by the way of the hillside behind him. And Jonadab said to the king, Behold, the king's sons come; as your servant said, so it is. And it happened as soon as he had made an end of speaking, behold, the king's sons came. And they lifted up their voice and wept. And the king also and all his servants wept with a great weeping.

And there was a famine in the land. And Abram went down into Egypt to stay there, for the famine was grievous in the land. And it happened, when he had come near to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look upon. And it will be when the Egyptians see you, they shall say, This is his wife. And they will kill me, but they will save you alive.read more.
I pray you, say that you are my sister, so that it may be well with me for your sake. And my soul shall live because of you. And it happened when Abram had come into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. The princes of Pharaoh also 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 male servants, and maidservants, and she-asses, and camels. And Jehovah plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she is your wife? Why did you say, She is my sister? And so I was about to take her to me as wife. Now therefore behold your wife. Take her and go. And Pharaoh commanded men concerning him. And they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

And Abraham moved from there toward the south country, and lived between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. And Abimelech the king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, you are about to die, for the woman whom you have taken; for she is a man's wife.read more.
But Abimelech had not come near her. And he said, Lord, will You also kill a righteous nation? Did he not say to me, She is my sister? And she, even she herself said, He is my brother. In the sincerity of my heart and innocency of my hands I have done this. And God said to him in a dream, Yes, I know that you did this in the sincerity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me. Therefore I did not allow you to touch her. Now therefore, restore his wife to the man. For he is a prophet, and he shall pray for you, and you shall live. And if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you, and all that are yours.

And there was a famine in the land, besides the famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines to Gerar. And Jehovah appeared to him and said, Do not go down into Egypt. Live in the land which I shall tell you of. Reside in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. For to you and to your seed I will give all these lands; and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.read more.
And I will make your seed to multiply as the stars of the heavens, and will give to your seed all these lands. And in your Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My Laws. And Isaac lived in Gerar. And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, She is my sister. For he feared to say, My wife; lest the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah, because she was beautiful of form. And when he had been there a long time, it happened that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out through the window, and saw; and behold! Isaac was caressing Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac and said, Behold! She surely is your wife. And why did you say, She is my sister? And Isaac said to him, Because I said, Lest I die on account of her. And Abimelech said, What is this you have done to us? One of the people might have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.

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

And Rachel's slave woman Bilhah conceived again, and bore Jacob a second son. And Rachel said, With the wrestlings of God I have wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed. And she called his name Naphtali.

And as they went, it happened 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 distracted with much serving. And she came to Him and said, Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.read more.
And Jesus answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. But one thing is needful, 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 Cushite woman whom he had taken. For he had taken a Cushite woman. And they said, Has Jehovah indeed spoken only by Moses? Has He not also spoken by us? And Jehovah heard. (Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all the men on the face of the earth.)read more.
And Jehovah spoke suddenly to Moses and to Aaron and to Miriam, You three come out to the tabernacle of the congregation. And the three came out. And Jehovah 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 Jehovah will make Myself known to him in a vision, and will speak to him in a dream. Not so, My servant Moses. He is faithful in all My house. I will speak with him mouth to mouth, even clearly, and not in dark speeches. And he shall behold the likeness of Jehovah. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses? And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against them, and He moved. And the cloud moved from the tabernacle. And behold! Miriam became leprous, as snow. And Aaron looked on Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said to Moses, Oh, my lord, I beg you, do not lay upon us the sin in which we have done foolishly, and in which we have sinned. Let her not be like one dead, of whom the flesh is half gone when he comes out of his mother's womb. And Moses cried to Jehovah saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech You. And Jehovah said to 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. And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days. And the people did not pull up stakes until Miriam was brought in.

But Jehoshabeath the daughter of the king took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons who were killed. And she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. And 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 did not kill him.

But Jehosheba the daughter of King Jehoram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him from among the king's sons which were killed. And they hid him from Athaliah in the bedroom, him and his nurse, so that he was not killed.

And a man went from the house of Levi and took a daughter of Levi as his wife. And the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw him, that he was beautiful, she hid him three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of papyrus for him, and daubed it with bitumen and with pitch, and put the child in it. And she laid it in the reeds by the river's edge.read more.
And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along by the riverside. And when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her slave-girl to bring it. And she opened it, and she saw the child. And behold, a boy wept. And she had pity on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' sons. And his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call a woman, a nurse of the Hebrew women for you, that she may nurse the child for you? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the girl went and called the child's mother.

And came to him all his brothers, and all his sisters, and all those who had known him before. And they ate bread with him in his house, and consoled him and comforted him over all the evil that Jehovah had brought on him. Each one also gave him a piece of money, and each one a ring of gold.

And there was a certain sick one, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (And it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Then his sisters sent to Him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.

And Judah took a wife for Er his first-born, whose name was Tamar. And Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of Jehovah. And Jehovah killed him. And Judah said to Onan, Go in to your brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to your brother.read more.
And Onan knew that the seed would not be his. And it happened when he went in to his brother's wife, that he spilled on the ground, not giving seed to his brother. And what he did was evil in the eyes of Jehovah. Therefore He killed him also. Then said Judah to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, Remain a widow at your father's house until Shelah my son is grown. For he said, Lest perhaps he die also, as his brothers did. And Tamar went and lived in her father's house.

I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea,

If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and if one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them those things which are needful to the body, what good is it? Even so, if it does not have works, faith is dead, being by itself.

If I wait for the grave as my home, I have made my bed in the darkness; I have said to corruption, You are my father; to the worm, My mother and my sister! And where then is my hope? And as for my hope, who shall see it?read more.
They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our descent together is in the dust.

My son, keep my words and store up my commandments within you. Keep my commandments and live; and keep my law as the pupil of your eye. Bind them upon your fingers; write them upon the tablet of your heart.read more.
Say to wisdom, You are my sister; and call understanding your kinsman, so that they may keep you from the strange woman, from the stranger who flatters with her words.

Jehovah also said to me in the days of Josiah the king, Have you seen that which backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and has fornicated there. And I said after she had done all these things, Turn to Me! But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And I saw, when for all the causes for which backsliding Israel committed adultery, I sent her away and gave a bill of divorce to her, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she went and whored, she also.read more.
And it happened, from the folly of her whoredom, she defiled the land and fornicated with stones and stocks. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but with falsehood, says Jehovah.

Behold, all who use proverbs shall use this proverb against you, saying, As the mother, so is her daughter. You are your mother's daughter, who despises her husband and her sons. And you are the sister of your sisters, who despise their husbands and their sons. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite. And your older sister is Samaria, she and her daughters who dwell at your left hand. And your younger sister, who dwells at your right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.read more.
Yet you have not walked according to their ways, nor done according to their hateful deeds; but, as if it were a very little thing, you were corrupted more than they were in all your ways. As I live, says the Lord Jehovah, Sodom your sister, she nor her daughters, has not done as you have done, you and your daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom; pride. Fullness of bread and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters. Nor did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and did abominable things before Me, so I turned away as I saw fit. Nor has Samaria sinned as much as half your sins; but you have multiplied your abominations more than they, and have justified your sisters in all your abominations which you have done. You also, who have judged your sisters, bear your own shame for your sins which you have committed more abominable than they. They are more righteous than you! Yes, blush and bear your shame, since you have justified your sisters. When I shall return their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then also the captivity of your captivity in their midst; that you may bear your shame, and blush in all that you have done, since you are a comfort to them. When your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state, then you and your daughters shall return to your former state. For your sister Sodom was not mentioned by your mouth in the day of your pride, before your wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of your reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all her neighbors, the daughters of the Philistines who hated you from all around. You are bearing your wickedness and your abominations, says Jehovah. For so says the Lord Jehovah: I will even deal with you as you have done, who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant. But I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish to you an everlasting covenant. And you shall remember your ways and be ashamed, when you shall receive your sisters, your older and your younger. And I will give them to you for daughters, but not by your covenant. And I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall know that I am Jehovah; so that you may remember and be ashamed; and it will not be possible to open your mouth any more because of your shame; in that I am propitiated for all that you have done, says the Lord Jehovah.

But while He yet talked with the people, behold, His mother and His brothers stood outside, desiring to speak with Him. Then one said to Him, Behold, Your mother and Your brothers stand outside, desiring to speak with You. And He answered and said to him who told Him, Who is My mother? And who are My brothers?read more.
And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, Behold, My mother and My brothers! For whoever shall do the will of My Father in Heaven, the same is My brother and sister and mother.

Then His brothers and His mother came. And standing outside, they sent to Him, calling Him. And the crowd sat about Him, and they said to Him, Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking for You. And He answered them, saying, Who is My mother, or My brothers?read more.
And He looked around on those who sat about Him, and said, Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does 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 brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

And everyone who left 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 everlasting life.

And Jesus answered and said, Truly I say to you, There is no man that has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake and the gospel's sake, but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions, and in the world to come, eternal life.