then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
This verse isn't just about God forgetting sins; it's about His deliberate choice not to remember them. This "forgetting" isn't passive ignorance, but an active declaration that, through Christ's sacrifice, the penalty and stain of sin are so completely removed that they are rendered nonexistent in God's sight.
then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
The author is reinforcing the superiority of Christ's sacrifice by quoting Jeremiah’s prophecy about the New Covenant. This promise, that sins and lawless deeds will no longer be remembered, directly contrasts with the Levitical system where sacrifices had to be repeatedly offered, signifying ongoing sin. Because Christ’s one sacrifice is sufficient, the old system of sacrifices is now obsolete.
Ever feel like your past mistakes are always hanging over your head? God's Word offers a radical solution that addresses this very feeling.
More Than Just Forgetting
This verse, quoted from Jeremiah 31:34, is a cornerstone promise of the New Covenant. It's not just that God forgets our sins in a passive sense. Instead, it signifies a complete and decisive cancellation of debt.
Why is the promise of non-remembrance so significant? It directly speaks to the inadequacy of the old system of worship.
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The author of Hebrews uses this promise to highlight a critical point: the Levitical sacrifices under the Old Covenant were imperfect precisely because they required a repeated remembrance of sin.
Understand the original words
hamartia · Greek Noun
Refers to moral failure, 'missing the mark' of God’s standard of righteousness. It represents both the act of disobedience and the inherent state of separation from God.
anomia · Greek Noun
The legal or ethical violation of God’s revealed law. It emphasizes the defiance of divine authority and the breach of relationship with the Creator.
This promise, originally spoken through Jeremiah centuries before Christ, finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus' sacrifice. The author of Hebrews uses it to show how vastly superior the new covenant is to the old, highlighting that Jesus' single offering brings complete and eternal forgiveness, unlike the repeated sacrifices of the Levitical system.
c. 625–585 BC
Jeremiah's Ministry
The prophet Jeremiah delivers God's message of judgment against Judah and announces the coming Babylonian exile, while also prophesying a future new covenant.
586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem
The Babylonians conquer Jerusalem, destroy the Temple, and deport many Judahites into exile, fulfilling Jeremiah's prophecies.
c. 50 years after 586 BC
Return from Exile
A remnant of Judahites is allowed to return from Babylonian exile to Jerusalem, though under foreign rule.
Early 1st century AD
Jesus' Ministry and Sacrifice
Jesus Christ lives, teaches, and offers himself as the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice for sins, fulfilling the promises of the new covenant.
c. AD 60-62— this verse
Composition of Hebrews
The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews writes to Jewish Christians, likely in Rome or Jerusalem, urging them to remain faithful to Christ.
This verse directly echoes the promise quoted in Hebrews, revealing the heart of the new covenant as forgiveness and intimate knowledge of God.
Isaiah 44:22This passage from Isaiah uses vivid imagery to describe God's complete blotting out of sins, reinforcing the idea of God's complete remembrance removal.
Psalm 103:12This Psalm beautifully illustrates the vastness of God's mercy by comparing the distance of our sins from us to the distance of the sunrise from the west, signifying their complete removal.
Romans 8:1-2These verses highlight the freedom from condemnation that believers have in Christ Jesus, directly linking to the assurance that sins are no longer remembered against us.
2 Corinthians 5:17-19This passage emphasizes that in Christ, believers are a new creation, and God is reconciling the world to Himself, with the message of reconciliation being that God does not count people's sins against them.
meyerHebrews 10:17: "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."
Hebrews 10:17 . The καί at the beginning of the verse is held by Böhme and Kuinoel to be a further particle of citation on the part of the author; while Hofmann will have it translated by “also.” Better, however, because more naturally and simply, is it taken as a constituent part of the Scripture citation.
ellicottHebrews 10:17: "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."
(17) Every reader must feel that as these verses stand in the Authorised version the sense is imperfect. The words “after He hath said before” ( Hebrews 10:15 ) imply “then He saith,” or similar words, at some point in the verses which follow. Our translators did not attempt to complete the sense; for the marginal note (“some copies have, Then he saith, And their” ) found in ordinary editions was added at a later date. [12]…
This verse isn't just about God forgetting sins; it's about His deliberate choice not to remember them. This "forgetting" isn't passive ignorance, but an active declaration that, through Christ's sacrifice, the penalty and stain of sin are so completely removed that they are rendered nonexistent in God's sight.
The author is reinforcing the superiority of Christ's sacrifice by quoting Jeremiah’s prophecy about the New Covenant. This promise, that sins and lawless deeds will no longer be remembered, directly contrasts with the Levitical system where sacrifices had to be repeatedly offered, signifying ongoing sin. Because Christ’s one sacrifice is sufficient, the old system of sacrifices is now obsolete.
The author is reinforcing the superiority of Christ's sacrifice by quoting Jeremiah’s prophecy about the New Covenant. This promise, that sins and lawless deeds will no longer be remembered, directly contrasts with the Levitical system where sacrifices had to be repeatedly offered, signifying ongoing sin. Because Christ’s one sacrifice is sufficient, the old system of sacrifices is now obsolete.
"then he adds,
“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”" — This verse isn't just about God forgetting sins; it's about His *deliberate* choice not to remember them. This "forgetting" isn't passive ignorance, but an active declaration that, through Christ's s…
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Last reviewed October 2026