Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Hebrews 10:16

"This is the covenant that I will make with them After those days, saith the Lord: I will put my laws on their heart, And upon their mind also will I write them; [then saith he,]" — Hebrews 10:16 (ASV)

The writer consistently regards God as the author of Scripture and, as we have seen, ascribes to God words uttered by Moses and others. He does not often speak of the Holy Spirit as responsible for what is written (9:8); but this is consistent with the writer’s general approach, and we should not be surprised at it here. The Spirit, he says, “testifies” (GK 3455), a word that implies that there is excellent testimony behind what he has been saying about Christ. Once more he quotes from Jer 31:31–34 , citing enough of the passage to show that it is the “new covenant” passage he has in mind; he then goes straight to the words about forgiveness, omitting everything else that does not directly apply. The author therefore emphasizes the fact that Christ has established the new covenant and that he has done so by providing for the forgiveness of sins.