I was reading in Leviticus this past weekend, and I came upon this verse:
Leviticus 19:27 - Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. Does anyone know what "round the corners of your head" means?
Here's the context. I've found out that this is something the Gentiles used to do when in mourning, but it didn't actually explain what it was.
Here's a bunch of different translations. However, some of them almost seem to describe different things. It's not a big deal, I was just curious to see if anyone had a good answer.
New American Standard Bible (©1995)
'You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard.
GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
"Never shave the hair on your foreheads, and never cut the edges of your beard.
King James Bible
Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
American King James Version
You shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shall you mar the corners of your beard.
American Standard Version
Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
Bible in Basic English
The ends of the hair round your face and on your chin may not be cut off.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Nor shall you cut your hair roundwise: nor shave your beard.
Darby Bible Translation
ye shall not shave the corners of your head round, neither shalt thou mutilate the corners of thy beard.
English Revised Version
Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
Webster's Bible Translation
Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
World English Bible
"'You shall not cut the hair on the sides of your heads, neither shall you clip off the edge of your beard.
Young's Literal Translation
'Ye do not round the corner of your head, nor destroy the corner of thy beard.