For this reason (or “That is why”) points back to verse 4. This makes a contrast with what, for the writer, is the main point of Psalm 40.6-8. The underlying argument, made clear in verses 9b-10, is as follows: animal sacrifices cannot deal with sin, because the animals have no choice about whether or not they will be sacrificed. Christ, on the other hand, offered himself, by his own choice, in response to his Father’s will.
The first part of this verse assumes three things: first, that Christ existed before he became man (see 1.2-3); second, that parts of the Old Testament can be understood as having been spoken by Christ (see 2.12-13); and third, that Psalm 40.6-8 refers to the time of Christ’s beginning his life as a human being (see 1.6 and comments).
Christ is implied (see RSV footnote). Most modern translations supply the name Christ; Christ was used in 9.24, 28. One or two even use “Jesus,” but this is less satisfactory, since Hebrews keeps this name for use with special emphasis (2.9; 3.1; 6.20; 10.19; 12.2).
Most commentators take the term rendered the world to mean “the earth.” A different Greek word is used in 1.6. The psalm quotation would then refer to the incarnation, probably in contrast to 1.6, rather than to Christ’s entry into the heavenly world when he was enthroned at the right hand of God.
The clause when Christ was about to come into the world may be expressed as “when there was not much time before Christ was to come into the world,” “when Christ was soon to come into the world,” or “when Christ was almost coming into the world.”
To God is added, to explain You in the next line. He said is literally “he says,” and when Christ was about to come is literally “coming.” The writer uses the present tense, because this passage of the Old Testament is still available to him as he writes, and is still valid. Some translations put both the original “he says” and “coming” into the past tense, since it was in the past that Christ came into the world: Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “Therefore Christ said, when he came into the world, to God…”; Barclay “This is why Christ, as he was coming into the world, said to God….”
The tenses in the quotation, verses 5b-7, need careful examination. Revised Standard Version‘s verbs refer to completely past events. “I have come” (verse 7, Revised Standard Version) suggests a past event, the consequences of which continue into the present. Good News Translation‘s Here I am (verse 7) emphasizes this present aspect to the exclusion of the past. The time at which Christ “said” the words in verse 7 is fixed by verse 5, that is, “when Christ came into the world.” Hebrews emphasizes the difference between the past system of sacrifices and the later event of Christ’s coming (Then, verse 7, repeated in verse 9). In English “you did not want” (verse 5) and “you took no pleasure” (verse 6) are appropriate tenses to show that this was God’s attitude in the past toward the sacrificial system.
Sacrifices and offerings are singular in the Greek of this verse, which means “You do not want any sacrifice or offering.” For the writer of Hebrews, the meaning is the same, as he shows by using the plural in verse 8. You do not want sacrifices and offerings often requires expansion in translation, since sacrifices and offerings imply certain events in which people participate. Therefore it may be rendered “You do not want people to offer sacrifices and to give you gifts” or “You do not desire people to sacrifice animals and to make offerings to you.”
A body: the Septuagint of Psalm 40 differs from the Hebrew, which has “ears”; the RSV footnote translates “ears thou hast dug for me” in Psalm 40.6. There is no doubt that Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version give the meaning of the way the Psalm is quoted in Hebrews. A strictly literal translation of you have prepared a body for me might suggest that the body was a kind of supernatural strait jacket into which Christ’s personality would temporarily fit. It may be clearer to employ some such translation as “you have given me a body” or “you have caused me to have a body.”
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .