Hebrews 10:7
in Hebrews 10Then I said, ‘Here I am, it is written about Me in the scroll: I have come to do Your will, O God.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said I, Lo, I am come (In the roll of the book it is written of me) To do thy will, O God.
KJV
Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
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This verse in Hebrews 10
Commentary
14 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Then said I - “I the Messiah.” Paul applies this directly to Christ, showing that he regarded the passage in the Psalms as referring to him as the speaker. Lo, I come - Come into the world; Heb 10:5. It is not easy to see how this could be applied to David in any circumstance of his life. There was no situation in which he could say that, since sacrifices and offerings were not what was demanded, he came to do the will of God in the place or stead of them.
This site's exposition
a body You prepared for Me
on Hebrews 10:5-7
The writer places Psalm 40:6 to 8 in the mouth of Christ. He follows the Greek Septuagint, a body You prepared for Me, where the Hebrew speaks of ears opened. The body serves the argument, since verse 10 grounds sanctification in its sacrifice.
This site's exposition
it is written about Me in the scroll
John Wesley takes the scroll as this very psalm. Matthew Henry reaches back to the beginning of the book of God, the promise of the woman's seed at Genesis 3:15. Albert Barnes finds no event in David's life that these words fit, so he reads the Messiah as the speaker.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
For the Holy Spirit and the power of the Most High overshadowed the Virgin. (Luke 1:35) And it was said, that I may do your will, O Father (Jn. 6:38); that those whom you have given me, I may not lose any of them. (Jn. …
"Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me. In burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo! I come, in the volume of the book it is written of Me, to do Thy will, O God." The types therefore contain the figure only, not the power; just as in images, the image has the figure of the man, not the power. So that the reality and the type have somewhat in common with one another. For the figure exists equally in both, but not the power.
A commentator
John ChrysostomDISCOURSES AGAINST JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS 7.2.1-7 · Written before 407.
proposed
Do you see that the law takes its force from the place? And, since the city is gone, there can no longer be a priesthood. There can be no emperor if there are no armies, no crown, no purple robe, none of the other things that weld together an empire. So, too, there can be no priesthood if sacrifice has been destroyed, if offerings are forbidden, if the sanctuary has been trampled into the dust, if everything that constituted it has disappeared. For the priesthood depended on all these things.…That great and wonderful prophet, David … made it clear that the one kind of sacrifice would be abolished and another brought in to take its place when he said, "You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be numbered." See how wise the prophet is. He said, "You have multiplied your wondrous deeds," and he stood aghast at God's power to work miracles. But he did not go on to tell us about the creation of the things we see—of heaven, earth, and oceans, of water in Egypt or of any other miracles like those. What did he say were wondrous works? "Sacrifice and offering you do not desire." … David went on to say, "But a body you have fitted to me." By this he meant the Lord's body which became the common sacrifice for the whole world, the sacrifice which cleansed our souls, canceled sin, put down death, opened heaven, gave us many great hopes and made ready all the other things which Paul knew well and spoke of when he exclaimed, "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! […]
The Medieval Church2 voices
Do you see that the sacrifices were rejected even before the incarnation? For after You rejected the sacrifices, then I — Christ — said: "Behold, I come... to do Your will." And the will of God the Father is that the Son be slain for …
A commentator
Photios I of ConstantinopleFRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 10.5-9 · Written before 893.
proposed
Christ spoke, "while coming into the world," not "after he had entered it." But manifestly he was already entering it when he promised David and maintained that he would seat one from the fruit of his loins on his throne until the age would come. …
6 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
489. – Then when he says, then said I: Lo, I come, he continues to approve the New Testament. According to a Gloss it is read in the following way: Then, namely, when you did prepare a body for me, i.e., in the conception, I …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It was written of Christ, in the beginning of the book of God, that the seed of the woman should break the serpent's head; and the Old Testament abounds with prophecies concerning Christ. Now since he is the person so often promised, so much spoken of, so long expected by the people of God, he ought to be received with great honour and gratitude.
Then said I, lo, I come,.... Christ observing that legal sacrifices were not acceptable to God; that there was a body prepared for him; and that it was written of him in the book of God, that he should come; and the time being now come, with a note of attention and admiration, the matter being of great moment and concern, he cheerfully expresses his readiness to come, immediately, without any compulsion, even he himself, and not another.
In establishing the second, that is, his own priesthood and the everlasting gospel, the most pure and perfect dispensation of the covenant of grace; this is the great design upon which the heart of God was set from all eternity.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Besides the covenant of God with man through Christ's blood, there was another covenant made by the Father with the Son from eternity. The condition was, "If He shall make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed," &c.
In the volume of the book - במגלת ספר bimgillath sepher, “in the roll of the book.” Anciently, books were written on skins and rolled up. Among the Romans these were called volumina, from volvo, I roll; and the Pentateuch, in the Jewish synagogues, is still written in this way. There are two wooden rollers; on one they roll on, on the other they roll off, as they proceed in reading. The book mentioned here must be the Pentateuch, or five books of Moses; for in David’s time no other part of Divine revelation had been committed to writing. This whole book speaks about Christ, and his accomplishing the will of God; not only in, The seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent, and, In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, but in all the sacrifices and sacrificial rites mentioned in the law. To do thy will - God willed not the sacrifices under the law, but he willed that a human victim of infinite merit should be offered for the redemption of mankind. That there might be such a victim, a body was prepared for the eternal Logos; and in that body he came to do the will of God, that is, to suffer and die for the sins of the world.
The words behind it
17 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| τότε | tote | Then | G5119 → | 160 times |
| εἶπον· | eipon | I said; | G2036 → | 925 times |
| ἰδοὺ | idou | Behold | G2400 → | 200 times |
| ἥκω, | heko | I have come — | G2240 → | 26 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| κεφαλίδι | kephalidi | [the] scroll | G2777 → | |
| βιβλίου | bibliou | of [the] book | G975 → | |
| γέγραπται | gegraptai | it has been written | G1125 → | |
| περὶ | peri | of | G4012 → | 332 times |
| ἐμοῦ, | emou | Me — | G1473 → | 839 times |
| τοῦ | tou | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ποιῆσαι, | poiesai | to do, | G4160 → | 569 times |
| ὁ | ho | O | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θεός, | theos | God, | G2316 → | 1312 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θέλημά | thelema | will | G2307 → | 62 times |
| σου. | sou | of You. | G4771 → | 2973 times |
τότεThen
toteG5119 →160 times
εἶπον·I said;
eiponG2036 →925 times
ἰδοὺBehold
idouG2400 →200 times
ἥκω,I have come —
hekoG2240 →26 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
κεφαλίδι[the] scroll
kephalidiG2777 →
βιβλίουof [the] book
bibliouG975 →
γέγραπταιit has been written
gegraptaiG1125 →
περὶof
periG4012 →332 times
ἐμοῦ,Me —
emouG1473 →839 times
τοῦ<the>
touG3588 →19766 times
ποιῆσαι,to do,
poiesaiG4160 →569 times
ὁO
hoG3588 →19766 times
θεός,God,
theosG2316 →1312 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
θέλημάwill
thelemaG2307 →62 times
σου.of You.
souG4771 →2973 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 4:34Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.
it leads to
- John 6:38
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 5:30
I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 26:39
Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 23:12
I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.
- John 17:4
I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do.
- John 6:38
Through
John 5:30I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
it leads to
- John 4:34
Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 5:19
So Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does.
- John 14:10
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father…
- John 4:34
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies42
On this verse
On this chapter
- The General Epistles
- The Covenants
- The Day of Atonement
- Eternal Security, and the Five Warnings of Hebrews
- Faith
- The Hall of Faith
Show the next 6 titles
- The Fall Feasts
- Hope
- The Anchor of the Soul
- Entertaining Angels Unaware
- How the Cross Saves: The Views of the Atonement
- Jephthah's vow
Show the next 6 titles
- The Joy Set Before Him
- The Messianic Psalms
- Nadab and Abihu: the unauthorized fire
- Patience and the Impulse
- The Farmer Waits for the Rain
- The Scarlet Thread
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- The Tabernacle
- The Appointed Times Read as a Calendar of Prophecy
- The Ark of the Covenant
- The Ascension: Acts 1:1-11 · Luke 24:50-53
- The Blood
- The Bronze Laver
Show the next 6 titles
About Hebrews
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Hebrews 17; John Chrysostom, DISCOURSES AGAINST JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS 7.2.1-7; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, The Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Hebrews; Photios I of Constantinople, FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 10.5-9; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Hebrews and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Hebrews.