Psalms 40:6

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire; ears you have opened for me; burnt offering and sin offering you did not ask.”

Psalms 40:6 · direct translation from the Hebrew
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6

Quotation · Hebrews 10:5-7

Go to Hebrews 10:5-7

Hebrews puts the psalm in the mouth of the Son. Where the Hebrew says “ears you have opened for me,” Hebrews says “a body you prepared for me.”

Formula: εἰσερχόμενος εἰς τὸν κόσμον λέγει “when he comes into the world, he says” (Hebrews 10:5)

See the original texts

Greek of the New Testament: διὸ εἰσερχόμενος εἰς τὸν κόσμον λέγει Θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας σῶμα δὲ κατηρτίσω μοι ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ εὐδόκησας τότε εἶπον Ἰδοὺ ἥκω ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ τοῦ ποιῆσαι ὁ θεός τὸ θέλημά σου

Hebrew (Masoretic text): זֶבַח וּמִנְחָה לֹא חָפַצְתָּ אָזְנַיִם כָּרִיתָ לִּי עוֹלָה וַחֲטָאָה לֹא שָׁאָלְתָּ אָז אָמַרְתִּי הִנֵּה בָאתִי בִּמְגִלַּת סֵפֶר כָּתוּב עָלָי לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹנְךָ אֱלֹהַי חָפָצְתִּי וְתוֹרָתְךָ בְּתוֹךְ מֵעָי

Septuagint (Psalms 39:7-9 in the Septuagint numbering): θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας, σῶμα δέ κατηρτίσω μοι· ὁλοκαύτωμα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ᾔτησας. τότε εἶπον Ἰδοὺ ἥκω, ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ· τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημά σου ὁ θεός μου ἐβουλήθην, καὶ τὸν νόμον σου ἐν μέσῳ τῆς καρδίας μου.

The Greek of the NT matches the Septuagint word for word in 12 consecutive words: “τότε εἶπον Ἰδοὺ ἥκω ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ τοῦ ποιῆσαι.”

Septuagint, Swete’s text, First1KGreek transcription (with reading errors), CC BY-SA 4.0

Psalms 40:6, word by word

Sacrificeזֶבַחzevach

sacrifice

An animal offered to God and eaten together.

Where else “zevach” appears
and offeringמִנְחָהmincha

offering

An offering to God.

Where else “mincha” appears
desireחָפַצְתָּchafatsta

delight in

To take pleasure in someone or something and look on it with favor.

Where else “chafatsta” appears
earsאָזְנַיִםaznayim

hearing

The ear that listens: "incline your ear".

Where else “aznayim” appears
you have openedכָּרִיתָkarita

open the ear

To make someone able to hear and understand, as if opening his ear.

Where else “karita” appears
burnt offeringעוֹלָהola

burnt offering

A sacrifice burned whole on the altar.

Where else “ola” appears
and sin offeringחֲטָאָהchataa

sin offering

The sacrifice offered to take away sin.

Where else “chataa” appears
askשָׁאָלְתָּshaalta

ask for

To ask for something, or borrow.

Where else “shaalta” appears

Translation note

“Ears you have opened for me”: literally “ears you have dug for me,” to listen and obey. Hebrews 10:5-7 quotes these verses with the words “a body you have prepared for me,” and applies them to Jesus.

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

Quotation · Hebrews 10:5-7

Hebrews puts the psalm in the mouth of the Son. Where the Hebrew says “ears you have opened for me,” Hebrews says “a body you prepared for me.”

See them side by side

Psalms 40:6

6Sacrifice and offering you did not desire; ears you have opened for me; burnt offering and sin offering you did not ask.

Hebrews 10:5-7

5Therefore, when he comes into the world, he says: Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but a body you prepared for me;

The context

5Many things you have done, you, YHWH my Elohim, your wonders and your thoughts toward us; there is none to compare with you; were I to declare and speak of them, they are too many to count.

6 · This verse (above)

7Then I said, “Look, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.

Read all of Psalms 40

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