Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 43:23

"Thou hast not brought me of thy sheep for burnt-offerings; neither hast thou honored me with thy sacrifices. I have not burdened thee with offerings, nor wearied thee with frankincense." — Isaiah 43:23 (ASV)

You have not brought Me - As a people, you have withheld from Me the sacrifices which were commanded. You had not maintained and observed His worship as He had required.

The small cattle - Margin, ‘Lambs,’ or ‘kids.’ The Hebrew word (שׂה s'eh) properly denotes one of a flock—a sheep or a goat. It should have been rendered that way here. These animals were used for burnt offerings, and the Jews were required to offer them daily to God.

Of your burnt offerings - (Numbers 28:3). The burnt offering was wholly consumed on the altar.

With your sacrifices - Bloody offerings. There is little difference between this word and that rendered ‘burnt offerings.’ If there is any, it is that the word rendered ‘sacrifice’ (זבח zebach) has a wider meaning and expresses sacrifice in general; the word rendered ‘burnt offering’ (עלה ‛olâh) denotes that which is consumed, or which ascends as an offering. The holocaust refers to its being burned; the sacrifice to the offering, however made.

I have not caused you to serve with an offering - ‘I have not made a slave of you; I have not exacted such a service as would be oppressive and intolerable—such as is imposed on a slave.’ The word used here (עבד ‛âbad) is often used in this sense, and with such a reference (for example, Leviticus 25:39, which states, ‘Thou shalt not compel him to serve the service of a bondman’; Jeremiah 22:13; Jeremiah 25:14; Jeremiah 30:8). The sense is that the laws of God on the subject were not grievous and oppressive.

With an offering - The word used here (מנחה minchāh) properly denotes a bloodless oblation, and is thus distinguished from those mentioned before. It consisted of flour mixed with salt, oil, and incense, or of the fruits of the earth, etc. (see the notes at Isaiah 1:11; compare to Leviticus 2:2 and Numbers 28:5).

Nor wearied you - By exacting incense. I have not so exacted it as to make it burdensome and wearisome to you.

With incense - (See the note at Isaiah 1:13). The word לבונה l^ebônâh (Greek λίβανος libanos) properly denotes frankincense, a substance so called from its white color, from לבן lāban—“to be white.”

It is found in Arabia (Isaiah 60:6; Jeremiah 6:20) and in Palestine (Song of Solomon 4:6, 14), and was obtained by making incisions in the bark of trees.

It was much used in worship among the Jews as well as by other nations. It was burned in order to produce an agreeable fragrance (Exodus 30:8; Exodus 37:29; Leviticus 16:13).