Hebrews 10 7

Hebrews 10:7 kjv

Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

Hebrews 10:7 nkjv

Then I said, 'Behold, I have come? In the volume of the book it is written of Me? To do Your will, O God.' "

Hebrews 10:7 niv

Then I said, 'Here I am?it is written about me in the scroll? I have come to do your will, my God.'?"

Hebrews 10:7 esv

Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'"

Hebrews 10:7 nlt

Then I said, 'Look, I have come to do your will, O God ?
as is written about me in the Scriptures.'"

Hebrews 10 verses

Hebrews 10 7 Meaning

Hebrews 10:7 states the Lord Jesus Christ's foundational purpose for His incarnation and ministry: He came to fully accomplish the predetermined will of God. This verse, presented as a direct utterance from the Son, emphasizes that His mission, written in divine counsel from eternity and recorded in the Old Testament scriptures (specifically Psalm 40), was not to uphold the temporary, ineffectual sacrificial system but to provide the singular, ultimate obedience and sacrifice required by God, thereby inaugurating the new covenant.

Hebrews 10 7 Context

Hebrews chapter 10 is an essential part of the author's argument for the superiority of Christ's priesthood and sacrifice over the Levitical system. The chapter opens by reiterating the inability of the Old Covenant law, with its repeated animal sacrifices, to perfectly cleanse sin (Heb 10:1-4). These sacrifices were a shadow, not the reality, serving only as an annual reminder of sins. Verse 5 begins a quotation from Psalm 40:6-8 (LXX version), presented as Christ's own declaration upon entering the world. This declaration highlights that God had no real pleasure in the typical burnt offerings and sacrifices because they could not fulfill His ultimate purpose. Hebrews 10:7, therefore, presents the decisive alternative: Christ's coming to perfectly perform God's will. This obedience, elaborated on in subsequent verses, involves the offering of His own body as the ultimate, singular, and perfect sacrifice for sins, thereby annulling the old covenant's inadequacy and establishing the New Covenant. The polemic here is clear: to continue in the Old Covenant sacrificial practices after Christ's finished work is to deny the effectiveness and sufficiency of His singular, divinely willed sacrifice.

Hebrews 10 7 Word analysis

• Then said I,: The speaker is understood to be the Son, the pre-existent Christ, making a direct declaration to the Father. This frames the subsequent words as an eternal divine counsel now made manifest. The word "Then" connects it to the previous statement in Ps 40:6, indicating a response to God's displeasure with mere animal sacrifices.
• Lo,: (Greek: idou, ἰδού) An interjection drawing attention, equivalent to "Behold!" or "Look!". It emphasizes the significance and profound nature of what is about to be declared, acting as a divine emphasis point.
• I come: (Greek: hēkō, ἥκω) This is a present tense verb indicating an action in progress or an arrival that is presently complete and enduring in its purpose. It signifies a determined, purposeful advent into the world, emphasizing Christ's voluntary willingness and pre-existent consent to His redemptive mission. It suggests a movement from the divine realm to the earthly.
• in the volume of the book: (Greek: en kephalidi bibliou, ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου) "Volume" (bibliou) refers to a scroll or book, symbolizing the entire written Word of God. "Kephalidi" traditionally refers to the 'head' or 'roll' of a scroll, perhaps meaning its opening section or referring to the whole scroll as its "head." This phrase indicates that Christ's coming and His specific mission were part of God's pre-ordained plan, immutably recorded in the eternal counsels of God and foreshadowed throughout the Old Testament Scriptures.
• it is written of me,: (Greek: gegraptai peri emou, γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ) The verb "gegraptai" is in the perfect tense, signifying a completed action with lasting results. This highlights the eternal, settled nature of the divine plan concerning the Messiah. It confirms that the Old Testament prophecies definitively pointed to Christ, not merely in a general sense, but detailing His specific work.
• to do thy will,: (Greek: tou poiēsai ho thelēma sou, τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημά σου) This phrase is a purpose clause, stating the ultimate goal of Christ's incarnation. "Will" (thelēma) signifies God's divine purpose, desire, and decree. This is the central tenet: Christ's obedience to God's redemptive plan, in contrast to the inability of animal sacrifices to truly fulfill that will. His doing the Father's will culminates in His once-for-all sacrifice.
• O God: (Greek: ho theos, ὁ θεός) A direct address from the Son to the Father, reinforcing the divine relational aspect of this covenantal exchange.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "Then said I, Lo, I come": This cluster represents the divine, voluntary initiation of Christ's incarnational journey. It portrays His conscious and eager consent to fulfill God's eternal plan, emphasizing personal agency and devotion to the Father's purpose, distinguishing His work from the forced nature of animal sacrifices.
• "in the volume of the book it is written of me,": This phrase emphasizes divine pre-ordination and prophetic fulfillment. Christ's advent and mission were not ad-hoc but a meticulously planned event, documented and hinted at throughout the Old Testament. This reinforces the Messiah's role as the culmination of God's redemptive history, affirming the divine authority of scripture concerning Christ.
• "to do thy will, O God.": This core statement reveals the essence of Christ's entire existence and ministry. His life was wholly directed by the Father's will, culminating in His perfect sacrifice. This direct purpose stands in stark contrast to the insufficient animal offerings that could not effectively remove sin, highlighting the moral and obedient aspect of Christ's atoning work as God's true pleasure.

Hebrews 10 7 Bonus section

The profound shift from "my ears thou hast opened" (Masoretic Text of Psalm 40:6) to "a body hast thou prepared me" (Septuagint used in Heb 10:5) is highly significant. While both convey the idea of obedience (open ears for hearing and obeying commands), the Septuagint rendering explicitly ties Christ's willing obedience to His incarnate reality. This aligns perfectly with the New Testament's theological argument that the physical human body of Christ was the specific vehicle for His redemptive mission, allowing Him to enter human experience and offer Himself as the spotless sacrifice. This variation is not an error but a divinely guided prophetic precision, revealing the Holy Spirit's hand in preparing the scriptures for the fuller revelation of Christ. This "prepared body" then became the means by which He could "do thy will, O God"—that is, offer His unique sacrifice to inaugurate the new covenant, removing the first (old covenant sacrifices) to establish the second (His eternal sacrifice).

Hebrews 10 7 Commentary

Hebrews 10:7 stands as a profound declaration of Christ's pre-incarnate commitment and incarnate purpose. It unveils the heart of God's redemptive plan, establishing Christ's mission not merely as a response to human need, but as the predetermined and eternal will of the Father. The author of Hebrews, quoting Psalm 40:6-8, strategically uses the Septuagint translation which renders the original Hebrew "my ears thou hast opened" as "a body hast thou prepared me" (Heb 10:5). This crucial Septuagint variation powerfully aligns with the New Covenant theme, explicitly linking the prepared physical body of Christ with the ultimate means of doing God's will—His one perfect sacrifice.

This verse asserts that animal sacrifices, while divinely commanded under the Old Covenant, were never God's ultimate desire as a permanent solution to sin. They served a provisional purpose, pointing forward to the true fulfillment in Christ. Christ's "coming" to "do Thy will" signifies His perfect obedience and the definitive establishment of the New Covenant. His entire life, culminating in His death on the cross, was the perfect fulfillment of that divine will, satisfying God's righteous demands in a way no sacrifice of animals ever could. It establishes the principle that true devotion is not found in external rituals, but in wholehearted, internal obedience to God's express purpose, which for humanity is revealed through the person and work of Christ.

Practical application: For believers today, this verse emphasizes the singular and sufficient nature of Christ's work for salvation. Our acceptance by God is not based on our ritualistic observances or repeated efforts to atone for sin, but solely on Christ's perfect obedience in fulfilling the Father's will. Our sanctification flows from this same will (Heb 10:10). This calls believers to also embrace God's will in their lives as their primary purpose, finding spiritual life and purpose in Him who perfectly did His Father's will.For example, a believer struggling with past sins can rest in the certainty that Christ's obedient sacrifice, born out of God's eternal will, has definitively dealt with sin, unlike temporary old covenant rituals. Or, facing daily choices, they are called to seek and obey God's will, following the pattern of Christ's life.