Then He adds, “Here I am, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second.
Parallel translations
- WEB then he has said, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He takes away the first, that he may establish the second,
- KJV Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
- NKJV then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second.
- NASB then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second.
- NLT Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Christ's coming to do God's will sets aside the old system and establishes the new. The shadow gives way to the substance.
Overview
The author draws the conclusion: by declaring his obedience, Christ 'takes away the first' (the sacrificial system) to 'establish the second' (his obedient self-offering and the new covenant). This is a decisive statement of the transition from old to new, accomplished through Christ's obedient will.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Heb 7:18–19So the former commandment is set aside because it was weak and useless
- Heb 12:27–28The words “Once more” signify the removal of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that the unshakable may remain.
- Heb 9:11–14But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part of this creation.
- Heb 10:7Then I said, ‘Here I am, it is written about Me in the scroll: I have come to do Your will, O God.’”
- Heb 8:7–13For if that first covenant had been without fault, no place would have been sought for a second.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Hebrews is sustained worship of Christ: better than angels, Moses, and the priests; the great High Priest after Melchizedek who by one sacrifice perfects forever those he saves.
How Hebrews 10:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.