Isaiah 43:23

Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; either,

1. Because thou didst not offer thy sacrifices to me, but to idols. Or rather,

2. Because what thou didst offer was not done to me, not for my sake, not from a principle of love and obedience to me, not to please and honour me with it; but merely for thine own ends: which interpretation seems to be favoured by the following clause, and by comparing this with Malachi 7:5,6, Did ye fast unto me, even to me? And when ye did eat did ye not eat for yourselves? Neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices, because thou didst either neglect this work of sacrificing to me; or didst perform it merely out of custom or ill design, and not with a purpose to please and glorify me; or didst dishonour me, and pollute thy sacrifices by thy wicked course of life. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense: so the sense may be this, I did not require these wearisome services of thee, to wit, upon these terms, or to be offered in such a manner, as God speaks, Isaiah 1:11. But the words may very well be rendered, although I did not cause thee to serve with offerings, nor weary thee with incense; the particle although being here understood, as it is in many other places, as hath been formerly noted. And so this is an aggravation of their former sin, of being weary of and negligent in his service; although God hath not laid such heavy burdens upon them, nor required such hard services or costly offerings from them, as might give them cause to be weary, nor such as idolaters did freely and greedily perform in the service of their idols.