“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”
English Standard Version (ESV)
This passage highlights a profound shift from external rules to an internal transformation. God's promise isn't just about obedience, but about His very laws becoming part of our inner being, written on our hearts and minds, signifying a deep, personal connection.
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”
English Standard Version (ESV)
The author of Hebrews is building a case for the superiority of Christ's priesthood and sacrifice over the Old Covenant system. He's just emphasized that Jesus' one offering for sins is final and complete, contrasting it with the repetitive sacrifices of the Old Covenant. This verse, a quote from Jeremiah, is then used to show that the New Covenant itself inherently provides for the internal transformation—God's law written on hearts and minds—which the Old Covenant foreshadowed but couldn't fully achieve.
Ever feel like rules and regulations just don't 'stick'? What if God's law wasn't just external, but internal?
This verse highlights a radical shift in God's relationship with His people. In the Old Covenant, laws were given on stone tablets – external commands. Think of the Ten Commandments, etched in rock.
But the New Covenant, prophesied by Jeremiah and quoted here, promises something profoundly different:
The author of Hebrews shifts the language here. Why does this subtle change matter so much for us today?
The original prophecy in Jeremiah and the earlier mention in Hebrews 8 referred specifically to 'the house of Israel' and 'the house of Judah.' But here, in Hebrews 10:16, the author uses the broader term 'them' (πρὸς αὐτούς - 'toward them' or 'with them').
This isn't just a minor grammatical tweak. It signifies that the New Covenant isn't restricted to a specific ethnic or national group. It's open to who places their faith in Christ.
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The author uses this broader language to show that the blessings of the New Covenant – God's law written on the heart and mind – are available to all believers, regardless of their background.
Understand the original words
diathēkē · Greek Noun
A formal, solemn, and binding agreement or relationship established by God with humanity, typically involving promises, conditions, and signs. Under the New Covenant, it is established through the blood of Jesus, granting internal transformation and forgiveness of sins.
kardia · Greek Noun
Refers to the core of a person’s being, including their seat of desires, intellect, and will. In the New Covenant, God changes the heart from stone to flesh, enabling believers to genuinely love and obey Him from within.
This promise of a new covenant, with God's law written on the heart, was given during the crushing despair of the Babylonian exile, offering a future hope beyond the destruction of the Temple and the loss of national sovereignty.
c. 622 BC
King Josiah's Reforms
During renovations in the Jerusalem Temple, the Book of the Law is discovered. King Josiah enacts sweeping reforms, attempting to centralize worship and purify Israelite religion according to its commands.
597 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Following a Babylonian siege, King Jehoiachin and many prominent citizens are exiled to Babylon. This marks a significant blow to Judean leadership and national identity.
586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Temple Destruction
Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and its Temple, ending the Judean monarchy and scattering the population into exile. This event is a profound crisis for Jewish faith and identity.
c. 550-539 BC— this verse
Jeremiah's Prophetic Ministry Continues in Exile
The prophet Jeremiah, despite imprisonment and hardship, continues to prophesy hope to the exiles, foretelling a new covenant where God's law will be internalized.
539 BC
Cyrus the Great's Edict
Cyrus the Great of Persia conquers Babylon and issues an edict allowing the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple.
This passage is the original source of the quote, promising the same internal transformation of God's law within His people, highlighting the continuity of God's heart for His people across covenants.
Hebrews 8:10This verse also quotes Jeremiah 31, appearing earlier in Hebrews, and emphasizes that the New Covenant's core is God's law being written on the hearts and minds of believers, showing this is a foundational aspect of the New Covenant.
Ezekiel 36:26-27This prophecy describes God giving a new heart and putting His Spirit within His people to cause them to walk in His statutes, powerfully illustrating the internal work of the New Covenant that Hebrews 10:16 speaks of.
Romans 8:4Paul explains that the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in believers who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, demonstrating the practical outworking of God's law being written on the heart.
meyerHebrews 10:16: "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;"
Hebrews 10:16 . Instead of τῷ οἴκῳ Ἰσραήλ , Hebrews 8:10 , the author here places πρὸς αὐτούς . Certainly not unintentionally. By means of the more general πρὸς αὐτούς , the more definite reference to the natural descendants of the patriarch as the recipients of the New Covenant receded into the background. διδούς ] attach…
bengelHebrews 10:16: "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;"
Hebrews 10:16 . Αὕτη , this ) See ch. Hebrews 8:10 ; Hebrews 8:12 .
This passage highlights a profound shift from external rules to an internal transformation. God's promise isn't just about obedience, but about His very laws becoming part of our inner being, written on our hearts and minds, signifying a deep, personal connection.
The author of Hebrews is building a case for the superiority of Christ's priesthood and sacrifice over the Old Covenant system. He's just emphasized that Jesus' one offering for sins is final and complete, contrasting it with the repetitive sacrifices of the Old Covenant. This verse, a quote from Jeremiah, is then used to show that the New Covenant itself inherently provides for the internal transformation—God's law written on hearts and minds—which the Old Covenant foreshadowed but couldn't fully achieve.
The author of Hebrews is building a case for the superiority of Christ's priesthood and sacrifice over the Old Covenant system. He's just emphasized that Jesus' one offering for sins is final and complete, contrasting it with the repetitive sacrifices of the Old Covenant. This verse, a quote from Jeremiah, is then used to show that the New Covenant itself inherently provides for the internal transformation—God's law written on hearts and minds—which the Old Covenant foreshadowed but couldn't fully achieve.
"“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”" — This passage highlights a profound shift from external rules to an internal transformation. God's promise isn't just about obedience, but about His very laws becoming part of our inner being, written…
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Last reviewed October 2026