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For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no necessity to establish a second one to replace it. [a]However, God finds fault with his people, and he says,

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord,
    when I will establish a new covenant
with the house of Israel
    and with the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
    that I made with their ancestors
on the day when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
    and therefore I abandoned them, says the Lord.
10 This is the covenant that I will make
    with the house of Israel
    after those days, says the Lord.
I will plant my laws in their minds
    and inscribe them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.
11 And they shall not teach one another,
    each saying to his neighbor and his brother,
    ‘Know the Lord.’
For they shall all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest.
12 I shall forgive them for their wicked deeds,
    and I shall remember their sins no more.”

13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete. And anything that is obsolete and aging will shortly disappear.

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Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 8:8 The New Covenant is superior to the old because of the following: (1) God’s laws are inner principles (v. 10a) enabling his people to carry out his will (see Ezek 36:26f; Rom 8:2-4). (2) God and his people enjoy an intimate fellowship (v. 10b). (3) There will nevermore be sinful ignorance of God (v. 11). (4) Forgiveness of sins will last forever (v. 12).

For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.(A) But God found fault with the people and said[a]:

“The days are coming, declares the Lord,
    when I will make a new covenant(B)
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their ancestors(C)
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
    and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord.
10 This is the covenant(D) I will establish with the people of Israel
    after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
    and write them on their hearts.(E)
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.(F)
11 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,(G)
    from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more.(H)[b](I)

13 By calling this covenant “new,”(J) he has made the first one obsolete;(K) and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

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Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 8:8 Some manuscripts may be translated fault and said to the people.
  2. Hebrews 8:12 Jer. 31:31-34