40 Bible Verses about Sisters

Rebuke not an elder, but entreat 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 at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves.

And the LORD 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 to 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 sister a virgin, that is nigh to him, who hath had no husband: for her he may be defiled.

All the days that he separateth himself to the LORD, he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of 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 that feared God, and shunned evil. And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was 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 their houses, every one 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 divers colors that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying. And Absalom her brother said to her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he is thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house.

And yet indeed she is 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 born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.

The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten by 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 cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.

Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother: and all the people shall say, Amen.

And one hath committed abomination with his neighbor's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter.

And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which 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 defiled her. And his soul cleaved to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spoke kindly to the damsel.read more.
And Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel for a wife. And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter (now his sons were with his cattle in the field:) and Jacob held his peace till they had come. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to commune with him. And the sons of Jacob came from 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; which thing ought not to be done. And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her to him for a wife. And make ye marriages with us: give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to you. And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein. And Shechem said to her father, and to her brethren, Let me find favor in your eyes, and what ye shall say to me, I will give. Ask me never so much dower and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say to me: but give me the damsel for a wife. And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, (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 that would be a reproach to us: But in this will we consent to you: If ye will be as we are, that every male of you shall be circumcised; Then will we give our daughters to 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 to us, to be circumcised; then will we 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 more honorable than all the house of his father. And Hamor and Shechem his son came to 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 herein, will the men consent to us to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us shall be circumcised, as they are circumcised. Will not their cattle, and their substance, and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us. And to Hamor and to 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 odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites, and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they will assemble themselves 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 fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. And Amnon was so afflicted, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard 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 subtil man.read more.
And he said to him, Why art thou, being the king's son, pining from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister. And Jonadab said to him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say to him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me food, and dress the food in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand. So Amnon lay down and made himself sick: and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make for 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 dress meat for him. So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was laid 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, Have out all men from me. And they went out every man from him. And Amnon said to 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 to him to eat, he took hold of her, and said to her, Come, lie with me, my sister. And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly. And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou wilt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from thee. Howbeit, he would not hearken to 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 to her, Arise, be gone. And she said to him, There is no cause: this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst to me. But he would not hearken to her. Then he called his servant that ministered to him, and said, Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her. And she had a garment of divers colors upon her: for with such robes were the king's daughters that were virgins appareled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her. And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colors 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 sheep-shearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's sons. And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath sheep-shearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant. And the king said to Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we be chargeable to thee. And he pressed him: yet 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 to him, Why should he go with thee? But Absalom pressed him that he should 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 to you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have I not commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant. And the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and every man rode upon his mule, and fled. And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that information came to David, saying, Absalom hath 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 servants stood by with their clothes rent. And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king's sons; for Amnon only is dead: for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar. Now therefore let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king's sons are dead: for Amnon only 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 hillside behind him. And Jonadab said to the king, Behold, the king's sons come; as thy servant 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 servants wept exceedingly.

And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to dwell there; for the famine was grievous in the land. And it came to pass, when he had come near to enter into Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it will come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they will 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 had 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 men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels. And the LORD afflicted 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 to me? why didst thou not tell me that she is thy wife? Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me for a wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

And Abraham journeyed from thence towards the south country, and dwelt between Kadash 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 but a dead man, on account of 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 also slay a righteous nation? Said he not to me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart, and innocence of my hands have I done this. And God said to him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore I suffered thee not to touch her. Now therefore restore to the man his wife, for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou shalt not restore her, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou and all that are thine.

And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines to Gerar. And the LORD appeared to him, and said, Go not down into Egypt: dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee: for to thee, and to thy seed I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham thy father;read more.
And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give to thy seed all these countries: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed: Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: And the men of the 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 looked out at a window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, surely she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? and Isaac said to him, Because I said, Lest I should die on her account. And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done to us? one of the people might lightly have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldst have brought guiltiness upon us.

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

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

Now it came to pass, as they were going, 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 much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.read more.
And Jesus answered, and said to her, Martha, Martha, thou art anxious, and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful; and Mary hath 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 married: for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoke only by Moses? hath he not spoke also by us? And the LORD heard it. (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men who were upon the face of the earth.)read more.
And the LORD spoke suddenly to Moses, and to Aaron, and to Miriam, Come out ye three to the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. And 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 to him in a vision, and will speak to him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all my house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: why then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said to Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, in which we have done foolishly, and in which we have sinned. Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed at the time of his birth. And Moses cried to the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. And the LORD 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 again. And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till 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 slain, and put him and his nurse in a bed chamber. 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 the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons who were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bed-chamber, from Athaliah, so that he was not slain.

And there went a man of the house of Levi, and married a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bore a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, 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 therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.read more.
And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river, and her maidens walked along by the river's side: and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then said his sister to 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 came there to him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and ate bread with him in his house: and they condoled with him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an ear-ring 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 to him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest 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 the LORD; and the LORD slew him. And Judah said to Onan, Go in to 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 to his brother's wife, that he frustrated the purpose, lest he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also. Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter-in-law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son shall be grown; (for he said, Lest perhaps he die also as his brethren did:) and Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.

I commend to you Phebe our sister, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:

If a brother or sister is naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you sayeth to them, Depart in peace, be you warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

If I wait, the grave is my house: I have made my bed in the darkness. I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister. And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who will see it?read more.
They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is 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 thy eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thy heart.read more.
Say to wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.

The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she hath gone up upon every high mountain, and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot. And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou to me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And I saw, when for all the causes by which backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.read more.
And it came to pass through the lightness of her lewdness, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned to me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.

Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter. Thou art thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite. And thy elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.read more.
Yet hast thou 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, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not 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 poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good. Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thy abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thy abominations which thou hast done. Thou also, who hast judged thy sisters, bear thy own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yes, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them: That thou mayest bear thy own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort to them. When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former state. For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride, Before thy wickedness was disclosed, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are around her, the daughters of the Philistines, who despise thee on every side. Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thy abominations, saith the LORD. For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant. Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish to thee an everlasting covenant. Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thy elder and thy younger: and I will give them to thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified towards thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.

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

There came then his brethren and his mother, and standing without, they sent to him, calling him. And the multitude sat about him, and they said to him, Behold, thy mother, and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?read more.
And he looked around on them who sat about him, and said, Behold, my mother and my brethren! For whoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

If any man cometh to me, and hateth not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake, shall receive a hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

Jesus answered and said, Verily I say to you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive a hundred-fold 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.